EAT JURISDICTIONAL POINTS – Worker, employee or neither
The Claimant employee was given notice that his contract would expire on 1 December 2008.
By a letter dated 26 November 2008 the Respondent employer informed the Claimant employee ‘I write to confirm that you can be released today and will still be paid up to and including your notice period date Monday 1st December 2008’. The Claimant employee counter-signed this.
The Claimant employee submitted his application to the Employment Tribunal by email on 28 February 2009. The Respondent employer contended that this was outside the prescribed three month period because the effective date of termination of the Claimant’s contract of employment was 26 or 28 November 2008.
The Claimant submitted that the letter of 26 November 2008 did not alter the ‘effective date of termination’.
The Employment Judge upheld the contentions of the Respondent employer and held that the effective date of termination of the Claimant’s employment as stipulated in section 97 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 was 26 November 2008.
The Claimant appealed
Held:
1. The appeal was allowed because by absolving the employee from working his period of notice, the effective date of termination was not altered (Lees v Greaves (Lees) Limited [1974 2 All ER 393 applied).
2. The effective date of termination could be altered by the parties expressly agreeing to do this (Palfrey v Transco plc [2004] IRLR 916 applied and TBA Industrial Products Limited v Moreland [1982] IRLR 331 distinguished) but that had not occurred in this case as the letter of 26 November 2010 did not alter the effective date of termination.
Judges:
Silber J
Citations:
[2010] UKEAT 0137 – 10 – 1307
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Lees v Arthur Greaves (Lees) Limited CA 1974
The employee was dismissed in October but given six months notice. It was agreed that he should work out that notice until March. However, on 28 January 1972 the employee was persuaded to finish, accepting two months pay in lieu of working during . .
Cited – TBA Industrial Products Limited v Moreland CA 1981
Effective date of termination of employment. M had been told by letter that his Employment would finish on August the 2nd 1980, when he would receive a payment in lieu of notice then unexpired, and that, if he wished to leave before August 2nd, he . .
Cited – Palfrey v Transco Plc EAT 15-Mar-2004
EAT Employer gave notice of redundancy to expire on 31 May; termination date brought forward to 31 March with payment in lieu in respect of balance of period. ET found application not brought within 3 months of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment
Updated: 21 August 2022; Ref: scu.420757
