Gisda Cyf v Barratt
The effective date of termination of employment, where notice of dismissal is given by letter, is the date on which the employee reads the letter or has a reasonable opportunity to do so.
Facts
Ms Barratt was suspended pending a disciplinary hearing. After the hearing, her employer sent her a letter dismissing her with immediate effect. The letter arrived at her home while she was away visiting her sister, and she did not read it until a few days later. She presented a claim for unfair dismissal within three months of the date she read the letter, but outside three months of the date it was delivered. The employer argued that the claim was out of time.
Legal principle
The Supreme Court held that the claim was in time. Lord Kerr said that the effective date of termination, under section 97 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, was the date on which Ms Barratt read the letter, or had a reasonable opportunity to read it. The statutory provisions were designed to protect employees, and should be interpreted in a way which reflected that purpose, rather than by applying ordinary contractual principles about the communication of notice. An employee should not lose the right to claim before knowing that she had been dismissed.
Related cases on the contract of employment and implied terms
- Braganza v BP Shipping Ltd [2015] UKSC 17, [2015] 1 WLR 1661
- Cresswell v Board of Inland Revenue [1984] ICR 508
- Eastwood v Magnox Electric plc [2004] UKHL 35, [2005] 1 AC 503
- Edwards v Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2011] UKSC 58, [2012] 2 AC 22
- Faccenda Chicken Ltd v Fowler [1987] Ch 117
- Geys v Société Générale [2012] UKSC 63, [2013] 1 AC 523
- Herbert Morris Ltd v Saxelby [1916] 1 AC 688
- Hivac Ltd v Park Royal Scientific Instruments Ltd [1946] Ch 169
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This summary is for study and revision and is not legal advice. Although our case summaries are checked for accuracy, we do not guarantee that they are free from errors or omissions. Always read the full judgment for the court's reasoning.
