In person For the v Mr R Daniel – Contracts Manager — 2020

Mr Richard Riley presented a breach of contract complaint on 6 April 2019 after early conciliation. The tribunal heard evidence from the claimant and from Mr Daniel for the respondent, and reviewed the email exchange between the parties concerning the proposed job and contract. The respondent’s email of 19 March 2019 offered a role at a salary of £40,000 per annum, but the tribunal found that this was an invitation to consider entering into a contract, not a concluded contract itself.

The claimant replied that he was "eager and excited to come aboard", and a draft contract was sent on 21 March 2019. On 22 March 2019 the claimant raised concerns about intellectual property clauses, and Mr Knowles gave reassurances by email. By the morning of 25 March 2019 the claimant said he had been unable to sign the electronic version and asked for it to be re-sent, but later that day the respondent withdrew what it described as an offer of employment before a signed version had been received.

The tribunal held that the correspondence was preliminary to agreeing terms and was not intended to create legal relations as a formal contract of employment would do. Applying the principle in Entores Limited v Miles Far East Corporation, the judge concluded that acceptance of the electronic contract would only be effective once the signed contract was received by the respondent, and that did not happen before withdrawal. Because there was no concluded contract, the claim for notice pay and consequential damages did not arise and the claim was dismissed.