Brown v Merchant Ferries Ltd [1998] IRLR 682 NICA

Constructive dismissal: Establishing a breach of the implied duty of mutual trust and confidence

Date:

15 March 1999

In Brown v Merchant Ferries Ltd, the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland holds that, in determining whether or not there has been a breach of the implied duty of mutual trust and confidence, the test to be applied is: did the employer's conduct so impact on the employee that, viewed objectively, the employee could properly conclude that the employer was repudiating the contract? In this case, although the employer's conduct had unsettled and annoyed the employee and left him concerned about his future, its impact fell far short of justifying a conclusion that the employer had repudiated his contract.