The High Court has held that an employee had no reasonable expectation of privacy when he used his employer's computer system to create,and transmit, personal email correspondence in the course of his employment.
This case is a good example of how the terms of a staff handbook that is stated to be non-contractual can still be incorporated into an employee's contract of employment.
In Keeley v Fosroc International Ltd [2006] IRLR 961, the Court of Appeal held that a provision for enhanced redundancy payments set out in a staff handbook that was incorporated into the employment contract constituted an express term of the individual contract of employment, thus conferring a contractual right to the payment.
An employee on long-term sick leave who failed to maintain communication with his employer regarding his continued absence, and who had not provided continuous medical certificates, was lawfully dismissed so as to terminate any entitlement to benefits under the employer's permanent health insurance scheme, the Court of Appeal holds in Briscoe v Lubrizol Ltd.
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Employment law cases: HR and legal information and guidance relating to staff handbooks.