A entire colliery closed down and all employees other than the pursuer were offered and accepted alternative employment, thus disqualifying them from receiving redundancy payments. The pursuer, who had been injured by the accident for which the defendants were responsible, was declared redundant and received such a payment.
Held: A redundancy payment is not compensation for a loss of future earnings but rather for the loss of a settled job. In calculating damages for his injuries, credit should be given for the redundancy payment on the application of the principles laid down in Parry v Cleaver [1969] UKHL 2; [1970] AC 1 and, in particular, the public policy consideration that otherwise employers would be tempted to dismiss workers on grounds of incapacity rather than redundancy, where those alternatives were open.
Judges:
Lord Keith of Kinkel
Citations:
1981 SC (HL) 9, 1981 SLT 67
Jurisdiction:
Scotland
Citing:
Approved – Parry v Cleaver HL 5-Feb-1969
PI Damages not Reduced for Own Pension
The plaintiff policeman was disabled by the negligence of the defendant and received a disablement pension. Part had been contributed by himself and part by his employer.
Held: The plaintiff’s appeal succeeded. Damages for personal injury were . .
Cited by:
Cited – Cantwell v Criminal Injuries Compensation Board HL 5-Jul-2001
When calculating the losses suffered by a victim of crime, the allowance to be made for losses to a retirement pension through having to retire early should have set off against them, the benefits received by way of payments for his ill-health, . .
Cited – Baldwin v British Coal Corporation QBD 11-May-1994
The employee had been selected for redundancy. In order for him to qualify for the employer’s supplementary redundancy scheme an arrangement was made whereby he was given short notice. As a result he received an additional pounds 5,000. He now . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Damages, Employment
Updated: 09 December 2022; Ref: scu.219833
