Dr H Korthals Altes v University of Essex — 2020

This was a reserved judgment on a preliminary issue about construction of Dr H Korthals Altes's contract and the University of Essex Ordinances. The tribunal considered whether the contract and incorporated Ordinances allowed the respondent to end the claimant's employment before the end of her three-year academic probationary period on grounds of unsatisfactory performance without using the dismissal for good cause procedure in Ordinance 41.

The tribunal held that clause 2 of the contract and Ordinance 39 created a probationary regime in which the Academic Staffing Committee was the sole decision maker on confirmation of appointment during or at the end of probation. It found that Ordinance 39 and Ordinance 41 were drafted for different situations, that Ordinance 39 was silent on the mechanics of termination after non-confirmation, and that the respondent could rely on the general three months' notice termination right in clause 13. The tribunal also held that the respondent was not contractually barred from initiating the probation process itself after the probation interim report.

The claimant's argument that Ordinance 41 had to be followed after a negative confirmation decision was rejected. The tribunal found that applying Ordinance 41 to probationary non-confirmation would create duplication and potential conflict between the Academic Staffing Committee and the Tribunal procedure under Ordinance 41. It distinguished Deman v Queen's University Belfast [1996] NI 379 but treated it as supportive of the broader distinction between probationary arrangements and the position of permanent staff.

The tribunal concluded that the respondent did not breach the claimant's contract when it terminated her employment before the end of probation on grounds of unsatisfactory performance without first following the Ordinance 41 procedure for a good cause dismissal. No monetary remedy was awarded in this preliminary judgment.