EAT Contract of Employment : Damages for Breach of Contract – The Claimant accepted a job which provided for a salary range, within which there were a number of incremental steps from the lowest level (at which she started) to the top, the ‘rate for the job’. She was assured by an HR officer of the Employer that she would be granted progression through the incremental steps if her performance was satisfactory. There were to be annual progression reviews. However, the contract of employment when setting out the terms for progression expressly stated that there was no obligation on the employer to grant progression, and provided not that progression was solely dependent on performance but ‘included’ performance. The EHRC was subject to severe financial constraints arising from a tightening of Government funding, and did not award the claimant (or anyone in her position) either progression or a progression review. An Employment Judge’s decision that the contract was to be construed so that she had a right to progression subject only to satisfactory performance contradicted the clear meaning of the contract, and was set aside. The EHRC was nonetheless in breach of contract by failing to hold a review, but the reality was such that the claimant would not have been awarded an incremental increase because the EHRC’s finances would not permit the payment of such an increase to the claimant and those in her position.
Langstaff J P
[2014] UKEAT 0011 – 14 – 0406
Bailii
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 20 December 2021; Ref: scu.536375
