Updated to reflect changes to the tax rules on payments in lieu of notice, effective from 6 April 2018.
In Agoreyo v London Borough of Lambeth [2017] EWHC 2019 HC, the High Court held that a teacher was constructively dismissed when she resigned in response to a knee-jerk suspension. In the circumstances of the case, the suspension had been a breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence entitling the employee to resign without notice.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that the employer acted in breach of the implied term to maintain trust and confidence by giving a misleading reason for the employee's dismissal.
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.
The High Court has held that the suspension of a teacher was a "knee-jerk" reaction and in breach of the implied term of trust and confidence between the employer and employee.
An employment tribunal has awarded £25,000 for breach of contract to an apprentice whose contract of apprenticeship, which was due to run for four years, was terminated after less than two years.
In Adesokan v Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd [2017] IRLR 346 CA, the Court of Appeal held that an employee's negligent failure to act constituted gross misconduct justifying summary dismissal.
The High Court has held that two ex-employees breached their contracts of employment by misusing confidential information belonging to their former employer's business. However, the High Court found that the employer had not suffered any financial loss and that it was entitled to only nominal damages of £1 from each employee.
The Court of Appeal has held that an employee's failure to take action to remedy a situation was a serious dereliction of his duty that amounted to gross misconduct.
In DLA Piper's latest case report, the High Court awarded damages of £30,000 and gave an injunction to a company after a former employee breached restrictive covenants by using a combination of customer contact details and information from purchase logs acquired during his employment to poach customers.
HR and legal information and guidance relating to breach of contract.