An employee dismissed by his employer’s act of repudiation of the contract, is entitled to receive money in lieu of notice as well as compensation for a reasonable period for carrying out the appropriate disciplinary procedure.
Ralph Gibson LJ said: ‘Further, if there is a requirement of law for acceptance by the servant of the repudiation by the master, I am unable to see why it is not a requirement for a real acceptance, that is to say a conscious acceptance intending to bring the contract to an end or the doing of some act which is inconsistent with the continuation of the contract. If that is right, I do not understand how the courts would apply the notion of ‘easily inferring that the innocent party has accepted . . the repudiation’.’ and
‘If acceptance by the plaintiff of the repudiation was necessary was there acceptance? In my judgement there was not at any time before the hearing, unless ‘acceptance’ for this purpose can be taken to mean no more than the internal but unwilling acknowledgement that the plaintiff will not escape from being treated as if he had accepted. As stated above, I do not accept that it can properly be taken to mean no more than that. I can see no relevance in the fact that the plaintiff had deliberately formulated his case in a particular way for tactical reasons. If the law permits him to do so why should he not?’
Judges:
Staughton LJ, Ralph Gibson LJ, Sir Francis Purchas
Citations:
[1994] EWCA Civ 28, [1995] IRLR 50, [1994] ICR 727
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Applied – Gunton v Richmond-upon-Thames London Borough Council CA 1980
The plaintiff college registrar had been the subject of disciplinary proceedings, but the defendant had not followed the contractual procedure. The judge had ordered an inquiry as to damages on the basis that the Plaintiff was entitled to remain in . .
Cited by:
Cited – Societe Generale, London Branch v Geys SC 19-Dec-2012
The claimant’s employment by the bank had been terminated. The parties disputed the sums due, and the date of the termination of the contract. The court was asked ‘Does a repudiation of a contract of employment by the employer which takes the form . .
See Also – Boyo v London Borough of Lambeth EAT 4-Dec-1995
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment, Damages
Updated: 27 October 2022; Ref: scu.263223