This chapter discusses the contract of employment and its termination. It considers the difference between an employee, an employee shareholder, an independent contractor, and a worker, and the tests used to establish their status. It discusses the types of implied terms contained in a contract of employment. The chapter also considers termination of a contract of employment, examining the difference between unfair, constructive, and wrongful dismissal. It looks at claims for unfair dismissal, considering the potentially fair reasons for dismissal, the band of reasonable responses, the automatically unfair reasons for dismissal, and the remedies available where unfair dismissal has occurred. The chapter concludes with a discussion of redundancy.
Chapter
13. The Contract of Employment and its Termination
Chapter
7. Employment I: employment status, equal pay, and equality
Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter reviews the law on the employment contract, employment status, equal pay, and equality. Individuals may be engaged as workers, but their employment status will most commonly be as an employee or independent contractor. Employment status is significant in relation to the rights and obligations each type of contract has for the individual and employer. Given the lack of an adequate statutory definition, the common law has developed tests to identify employment status. Employment contracts contain express and implied terms. Employees and people employed personally to perform work under a contract are protected against various forms of discrimination and enjoy enforceable rights to equality at work.
Chapter
8. Employment II: termination—wrongful dismissal, unfair dismissal, and redundancy
Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter reviews the law on the termination of the employment contract. Employees have a statutory right not to be unfairly dismissed and the Employment Rights Act (ERA) 1996 identifies the criteria to be satisfied in order for the employee to gain protection. The common law protects against wrongful dismissal and provides tests and guidance for situations involving a breach of an employment contract. The chapter also considers redundancy situations. As this is governed by statute, it is necessary to appreciate the obligations imposed on the employer to adopt fair procedures.
Chapter
6. The Implied Terms of the Personal Employment Contract
This chapter first discusses the role played by implied terms of the employment contract. It then turns to the implied terms which impose obligations on the employer. These include the duty to provide work, pay wages, exercise reasonable care for the physical and psychiatric well-being of the employee; the implied term of mutual trust and confidence; and the discretionary benefit implied term and anti-avoidance implied term. The final section covers the implied terms imposing duties on employees. These include the duty to work and obey instructions and orders; the duty to adapt, exercise care, and co-operate; the duty of mutual trust and confidence; and the duty of loyalty, fidelity, and confidence.
Chapter
3. The Employment Relationship and the Contract of Employment
This chapter analyses the various tests adopted by the courts and tribunals to distinguish between the contract of employment and the contract for services. It considers the history of employment, moving from a master and servant arrangement to the emergence of the ‘mutual’ or ‘reciprocal’ contract of employment. It considers the statutory concept of continuous employment, whereby an individual may be required under statute to establish a period of continuous employment on the basis of a contract of employment in order to avail him/herself of certain statutory employment protection rights. Finally, the chapter turns to the effect of an illegal contract of employment, whether it was illegal in its purpose or objective when it was formed, or expressly or implicitly prohibited by statute. There is also consideration of the illegal performance of a legal contract.
Chapter
4. Termination of the contract of employment
The Q&A series offer the best preparation for tackling exam questions. Each book includes typical questions, bullet-pointed answer plans and suggested answers, author commentary, and illustrative diagrams and flowcharts. This chapter presents sample exam questions about termination of the contract of employment. Through a mixture of problem questions and essays, students are guided through some of the key issues on the topic of termination of the employment contract including the different ways a contract may be terminated, the meaning of dismissal, the right to reasonable notice, and wrongful dismissal. Students are also introduced to the current key debates in the area and provided with suggestions for additional reading for those who want to take things further.
Chapter
10. Performance of the Contract of Employment
This chapter begins with a discussion of the personal nature of the employment contract, and the fact that such a contract is necessarily one of personal service which gives rise to duties and obligations on both sides. It deals with issues such as the implied duties of the employer to provide for the employee (including the implied duty to provide work, pay wages, confidentiality, and the implied duty of trust and confidence), and the corresponding implied obligations of the employee (including the duty of faithful service, duty to use skill and care). There is also a discussion of whistleblowing and public interest disclosures. It then explains employer’s vicarious liability, and harassment and bullying.
Chapter
16. Wrongful Dismissal
Under the law which existed prior to 1971, an employer was entitled to dismiss an employee for any reason or no reason at all. In 1971 the Industrial Relations Act created the right for many employees not to be unfairly dismissed, and though that Act was repealed, the relevant provisions were substantially re-enacted in the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974, and further changes were made by the Employment Protection Act 1975. The Employment Rights Act 1996 (as amended) contains most of the relevant statutory provisions currently in force. This chapter discusses the ways in which wrongful dismissal may occur, collateral contracts, summary dismissal, and employment law remedies.
Book
David Cabrelli
Employment Law in Context combines extracts from leading cases, articles, and books with commentary to provide a full critical understanding of employment law. As well as providing a grounding in individual labour law, this title offers detailed analysis of the social, economic, political, and historical context in which employment law operates, drawing attention to key and current areas of debate. An innovative running case study contextualizes employment law and demonstrates its practical applications by following the life-cycle of a company from incorporation, through expansion, to liquidation. Reflection points and further reading suggestions are included. The volume is divided into eight main Parts. The first Part provides an introduction to employment law. The next Part looks at the constitution of employment and personal work contracts. This is followed by Part III, which examines the content of the personal employment contract and the obligations imposed by the common law on employers and employees. The fourth Part is about statutory employment rights. The fifth Part covers equality law. Part VI looks at the common law and statutory regulation of dismissals. The Part that follows considers business reorganizations, consultation, and insolvency. Finally, Part VIII describes collective labour law.
Chapter
3. Barriers to employment rights
UK employment law does not give equal protection to everyone considered to be working for an employer. In fact, a substantial minority of people who work for private firms, companies and public sector organisations do not enjoy the protection of employment law in some significant respects. There are four types of situation that often deny people the opportunity to bring their claims to court: when a claimant is not considered to be an employee; when a claimant is not considered to be a worker; when a claimant (who is an employee) has not completed sufficient continuous service with their employer; and when a claimant is found not to be working legally in the UK. In addition, employment tribunals operate strict limits on how soon after someone is dismissed or suffers from an instance of unlawful discrimination they make a claim if they want it to be heard. For most tribunal jurisdictions this time limit is set at three months, meaning that after this period has passed a claim cannot be considered because it is ‘out of time’. In practice this rule can also act as a fifth type of barrier preventing people from accessing their employment rights. This chapter focuses on these five types of situations.
Chapter
11. Continuity of employment and TUPE
Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses continuous employment and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). An employee’s period of continuous employment begins on the day on which the employee starts work. Although continuity provisions normally apply to employment by one employer, there are situations where a transfer from one employer to another can preserve continuity of employment. One such situation is when there is a relevant transfer under TUPE. TUPE acts to ensure that an individual’s contract of employment is transferred in its entirety when the individual employee experiences a change of employer as a result of a transfer.
Chapter
2. Contracts of employment
Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses employment contracts. Covenants potentially in restraint of trade are express written terms which may apply during the contract, but are usually expressed to apply after termination. They are a rare illustration of contractual terms, which must be in writing. The general purpose of these is to prevent a former employee competing against his former employers; for example, by taking commercially confidential information or influencing customers to give their business to the firm he has joined. The Supreme Court has recently ruled on the width of the doctrine of severance of such covenants. Topics covered include the provision of the written statement, a right which employees have enjoyed since 1963, but which was extended to workers in 2020; the sources of terms in employment contracts; duties of the employer; and duties of the employee. These duties or implied terms are divided into terms implied in law (ie inserted into every contract of employment) and terms implied in fact (ie inserted into a particular contract of employment). The latter are divided into terms implied in fact which work against the employers’ interests and terms which work against the employees’ interests. Examples of the former include the duty to pay wages; examples of the latter include the duty to obey reasonable orders.
Chapter
8. Variation, breach, and termination of employment
Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses variations of terms and conditions of employment. Theoretically, neither employer nor employee can unilaterally alter the terms and conditions of employment. A unilateral variation that is not accepted will constitute a breach and, if serious, could amount to a repudiation of the contract. A repudiation does not automatically terminate a contract of employment. In order to justify summary dismissal, the employee must be in breach of an important express or implied term of the contract.
Chapter
3. The Formation of a Contract of Employment
This chapter discusses how an employment contract is formed, and it then looks at the terms and conditions of employment and how these terms are to be interpreted. The types of terms discussed include express terms, implied terms, statutory terms, collective agreements and how such collective terms are incorporated, and looks at custom as a source of employment terms and works and staff rules. The chapter also considers other aspects of the contract of employment such as disciplinary and grievance procedures, job descriptions, written particulars of the contract of employment, the right to itemised pay statements, variation of contractual terms, and an overview of occupational pension schemes.
Chapter
19. Duties of Ex-employees
This chapter considers the duties of ex-employees, ie the obligations which apply to an employee who is about to leave his employment (whether voluntarily or otherwise), or who has actually left that employment. The law must strike a delicate balance. On the one hand, an employee has a right to earn his living, and knowledge and skills obtained in his former employment will doubtless enable him to continue to do so; on the other hand, an employer is entitled to limited protection against an employee who may well be seeking to compete. It includes garden leave, trade secrets and confidential information, restraint of trade, and working for competitors.
