Liam Jarvis v Masterselection Ltd — 2020

At the hearing on 21 March 2022, Employment Judge Dick considered whether the claimant's breach of contract claim had a reasonable prospect of success. The claimant, Liam Jarvis, appeared in person and the respondent was represented by Robert Barnsley, an employee of Masterselection Ltd. The judge recorded that the employment had ended on 25 September 2020 and that Mr Jarvis said he was not claiming notice pay.

The tribunal treated the claim as one for wrongful dismissal brought under the tribunal's contractual jurisdiction. It held that a contractual claim could not succeed for lost earnings beyond the contractual notice period, because an employer may terminate the contract for any reason subject to notice. The judge also held that the tribunal had no jurisdiction under Article 3 of the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) Order 1994 to hear a claim for personal injury arising out of breach of contract.

The tribunal further held, relying on Johnson v Unisys Ltd [2001] ICR 480, that damages for injury to feelings or psychiatric injury caused by the dismissal or the manner of dismissal could not be awarded as damages for breach of contract. On that basis, the judge found that Mr Jarvis had suffered no actionable loss falling within the tribunal's contractual jurisdiction. The breach of contract claim was therefore struck out under Rule 37 for having no reasonable prospect of success.