New EAT Decisions

[An advertisement for employment lawyers for Abbey Legal Services in = Croydon appears below]

These decisions have been placed on the EAT website this week.

Appeal - Inadequate Reasons

Bax Global Ltd v French (Lord Johnston, 20/10/03)

This is an important case for those who appear in the EAT.

The EAT found that the tribunal's reasons were inadequate. Normally,= this would result in the appeal being allowed and the case being remitted = for re-hearing.

However, in this case the EAT adjourned the appeal and directed that = the original employment tribunal provide fuller reasons for its decision. = It did this following a recent Court of Appeal decision allowing this appro= ach in the personal injury context, and directly contrary to established EA= T convention. Indeed, this approach (adjourning the appeal and asking the = tribunal to provide further reasons) was prohibited by an earlier division = of the Court of Appeal in Tran.

With luck, other divisions of the EAT will follow this approach, whic= h should reduce the number of 'technical' appeals based upon complaints of = inadequate reasoning rather than genuine errors of law.
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Implied Term of Trust and Confidence

Billington v Michael Hunter & Sons Ltd (HHJ Richardson, 16/10/03)

If an employer tells an employee that she is likely to face dismissal= but may, instead, resign on a generous resignation package, this is conduc= t likely to damage or destroy the employment relationship. Therefore unles= s the employer establishes it had reasonable and proper cause for acting in= the way it did, it is in breach of trust and confidence and the employee c= an claim constructive dismissal.