This chapter considers various legal issues associated with the termination of a contract of employment. It examines the ways in which an employment contract can be brought to an end in law, both by the employer and the employee, and considers the remedies that may be available to the parties for the termination of contract in some cases.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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This chapter examines the issues concerning contracts of employment. It begins by looking at how employment law disputes are resolved, namely by discussing the role of employment tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal, and how they fit into the courts structure discussed in Chapter 2. The chapter than discusses the difference between employees and independent contractors, and looks at the status of several special classes of worker. An examination of the terms of the contract then takes place, including a discussion of express terms, and the terms that are implied that relate to the conduct of the employer and employee.
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This chapter looks at the terms which are implied into contracts of employment. Implied terms are those that are deemed to be present by a court despite never having been explicitly agreed or even discussed by the employer or employee. The chapter begins by setting out the different types of implied term, differentiating these from other types of terms, before going on to explore the major implied terms and their significance. It focuses in particular on the duty to maintain a relationship of mutual trust and confidence as this is the area in which the most significant legal developments have occurred. It then considers situations in which implied terms conflict with express terms, before discussing procedural issues in breach of contract cases.
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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.
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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.
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This chapter focuses on the employment contract. It first considers the emergence of contract over the past two centuries as the favoured legal analysis at common law of the employment relationship and the courts’ historical interaction with statute along the way. It then explores the various express terms and implied terms often found in a contract of employment. It briefly looks at the notion of imposed terms by which express terms are imposed upon the parties by way of the contract of employment through legislation. The chapter closes with an examination of the legal issues that arise when a contract of employment is varied.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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This chapter introduces the basic principles of the law of contract as they apply to contracts of employment. It focuses on three issues in particular. First we look at how contracts are formed in the context of an employment relationship and at the conditions that need to be in place if a contract of employment is to be enforceable in a court. We then go on to discuss how employers can go about lawfully varying the terms of contracts by using flexibility clauses and other approaches. Finally we discuss the need to provide employees with written particulars of their employment soon after they start working in a new job.
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This chapter first examines the two statutory constructs occupying an intermediate position between the employment contract and contract for services that have been formulated by the UK Parliament as a repository for the conferral of certain statutory employment rights. These two statutorily recognized personal work contracts—the ‘worker’ contract and the ‘contract personally to do work’—are intermediate contract types, lying somewhere between the contract of employment and the contract for services. The discussion here is situated within the context of the controversy surrounding the growing numbers of atypical working contracts, such as contracts entered into by ‘gig economy’ workers, ‘zero-hours’ workers, casual workers, etc. The chapter then turns to address the legal status of agency workers. It examines whether the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 address the disadvantages experienced by this section of the UK workforce.
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The statutory provisions for continuity of employment are contained in ss 210–219 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Employment Protection (Continuity of Employment) Regulations 1996. Continuity of employment is a statutory concept generally used, first, to determine whether an employee has been employed for a particular length of time so as to qualify for a specific statutory right, and, second, to ascertain the employee’s length of employment for the purpose of obtaining certain financial benefits award and a redundancy payment. This chapter discusses provisions for counting and computing continuity (ERA, ss 210–219) 362)); preserving continuity (s 212); weeks which do not count towards continuity (ss 215–217); change of employer (s 218); and effect of the continuity rules.
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This chapter places trusts in their contemporary social, economic, legal, and international context. It first discusses their significance to the world outside the lawyer’s office, and shows that they play an important social and economic role in the lives of ordinary people. The trust operates in key areas such as home, employment, and commerce. The chapter also examines the trust in the context of laws, focusing on how it corresponds to, and coexists with, other legal ideas such as contract, debt, powers, gift, agency, bailment, tax, and corporation, and concludes by looking at the international and comparative dimension of the trust.
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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.
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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 statutory employment protection and related contractual issues. Through a mixture of problem questions and essays, students are guided through some of the key issues on the topic of statutory employment protection including eligibility requirements for the right not to be unfairly dismissed, the right to written reasons for dismissal, statutory minimum notice periods, the right to be accompanied to disciplinary hearings, and the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. 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
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 statutory employment protection and related contractual issues. Through a mixture of problem questions and essays, students are guided through some of the key issues on the topic of statutory employment protection including eligibility requirements for the right not to be unfairly dismissed, the right to written reasons for dismissal, statutory minimum notice periods, the right to be accompanied to disciplinary hearings, and the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. 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.
