contract law – employment law – implied terms – trust and confidence – scope of term – financial wellbeing – corporate structure – bonus payments
Applicability of the ‘implied term as to trust and confidence’ (‘ITTC’) in contracts of employment, and in particular where the alleged context is a breach of that term by way of the conduct of an employer which (depending on how one looks at the facts) consisted of a failure to secure payment of bonuses due from other companies in the broad group of companies in which C was employed and over which it is argued D had sufficient de facto control, or where the conduct is a positive ‘stringing along’ and avoiding honouring the bonus payment, leading to a breakdown in trust and confidence. Among other things the question is whether the claim must fail on the basis that appellate courts have in the past rejected the notion of an implied duty on an employer to take steps to protect the financial welfare of employees. In this instance the sum involved is enormous, being a bonus of at least $25 million USD.
References: [2020] EWHC 2608 (QB)
Links: Bailii
Judges: McCloud M
Jurisdiction: England and Wales
Last Update: 24 October 2020; Ref: scu.655147
