Category Archives: breach of contract
Category "breach of contract"
Summary dismissal following disclosure of confidential information
breach of contract, contract terms, contracts of employmentBy Martin Malone December 30, 2015
It is generally (and sensibly) thought that summary dismissal without notice should only occur in the most clear cut cases. In Farnan v Sunderland Athletic Football Club Limited the High Court considered the circumstances in which such action might be considered appropriate, as well as shedding light on the somewhat unappealing aspects of the football…
Six year time limit for contract claims does not apply in tribunals
breach of contract, employment tribunals, jurisdiction, time limitsBy Martin Malone September 30, 2015
Pursuant to section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980 there is a time limit of six years to bring a breach of contract claim, running from the "the date on which the cause of action accrued". However, in Grisanti v NBC News Worldwide Inc, an employment tribunal has held that the six year time limit…
Government launches consultation on simplification of tax treatment of termination payments
breach of contract, compensation, damages, ex gratia payment, settlement agreements, taxBy Martin Malone July 31, 2015
One of the most contentious areas in the field of employment law concerns the tax treatment of settlement payments on the termination of employment. In the 20 years plus that I have been dealing with employment law matters the law in this area has never been entirely settled and there has been a long series…
Team poaching and springboard injunctions
breach of contract, contract terms, Court of Appeal, injunctionBy Martin Malone July 31, 2015
Springboard injunctions are often granted in circumstances in which senior or key sales employees leave to work for a competitor. The name derives from the case of Bullivant v Ellis (1987) in which Mr Justice Falconer stated that the purpose of the injunction was "to prevent the defendants from taking unfair advantage of the springboard which…they…
actions from years ago can return to haunt employees
breach of contract, compensation, damagesBy Martin Malone February 27, 2015
Evan Glyn Williams was employed by Ken Bates as a technical director with Leeds United FC from 2006. He was on a salary of £200,000 per year, terminable on 12 months' notice. On 23 July 2013 he was given 12 months' notice of termination, pursuant to the contract. This arose as part of a redundancy…
changing the terms of a contract of employment
breach of contract, contract terms, unfair dismissalBy Martin Malone August 29, 2014
One of the employment law questions I am most often asked is whether an employer can insist on changing the terms of an employee's contract of employment. I considered the law concerning the imposition of pay cuts in October 2011. The general principle is that a variation in contract terms which operate to the detriment…
crackdown on bankers? is it really all it's cracked up to be?
bonus payments, breach of contractBy Martin Malone July 30, 2014
On 30 July and amid much fanfare the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority announced what is to be "the strictest industry regulation in the world" with a wide range of civil and criminal sanctions available to be applied against defaulting bank employees. Headlines included a new criminal charge of "reckless mismanagement" which could lead…
compromise agreements and probably the world's most expensive lunch
bonus payments, breach of contract, compromise agreementsBy Martin Malone December 20, 2012
It is an often-heard maxim in contract law that a party cannot seek to claim the benefits of a contract which he has breached. While that is a rather simplistic statement and is, in practice, subject to numerous qualifications and exclusions, the decision of the High Court in Imam-Sadeque -v- Bluebay Asset Management (Services) Limited…
bonus payments: beware what you say
bonus payments, breach of contract, contract termsBy Martin Malone May 21, 2012
Managers at Germany's second largest bank, Commerzbank, are facing the prospect of having to find £42million after Mr Justice Owen, sitting in the High Court in London, held that 104 former City bankers at Dresdner Kleinwort are each entitled to bonus payments of up to £1.3million each. The Bank claimed to be entitled to withhold…
no compensation for manner of dismissal
breach of contract, contract terms, contracts of employment, manner of dismissal, stigma damagesBy Martin Malone February 27, 2012
In Edwards v Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Botham (FC) v Ministry of Defence the Supreme Court revisited the question of whether, over and above any right to compensation for unfair dismissal, employees can recover damages for the way in which they have been dismissed and specifically in the situation where the employer has failed to…