Employment law cases

Ford v Warwickshire County Council [1983] IRLR 126 HL

Reports relating to this case:

  • Continuity of employment: Interval between fixed-term contracts

    Date:
    8 March 1983

    One of the grounds on which an interval between two contracts of employment does not break continuity is that the employee is absent from work due to a temporary cessation of work. In a decision that will benefit many teachers and temporary workers, the House of Lords holds in Ford v Warwickshire County Council that it is not relevant that the interval was anticipated and lies between two fixed term contracts. The test in all cases is whether the gap is short In relation to the duration of the two contracts.