Octavius Atkinson and Sons Ltd v Morris: EAT 1988

The employee, a steel erector, was summarily dismissed at 2:00. He arrived home at 4:00pm by which time the employer had discovered that alternate work was available which it would have been obliged to offer to him as an employee.
Held: An employee’s contractual entitlements and obligations under a contract of employment may continue after the date of termination by summary dismissal without indicating that the contract was intended to continue after the time when it was expressly terminated by summary dismissal. The employee remained employed until the time at which he reached home, and therefore at the precise time the employers became aware of the alternative, they remained obliged to make the offer.

Citations:

[1988] ICR 880

Cited by:

Appeal fromOctavius Atkinson and Sons Ltd v Morris CA 1989
The employee claimed unfair dismissal. He had been dismissed without notice at 2:00pm. Later the employer discovered that it might have offered alternate employment. The Tribunal had found that the opportunity emerged before the employee got home, . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment

Updated: 11 May 2022; Ref: scu.409217