In person For the v Respondent — 2022

The claimant, who started work on 19 November 2019, argued that his employment was not validly terminated on 19 March 2021 because the respondent’s notice was sent by email and did not comply with clause 24(4) of his agreement. He said that this meant he remained employed until 31 August 2021, and he claimed arrears of pay, holiday pay and notice pay on that footing.

Employment Judge Forde found that at the meeting on 19 March 2021 the claimant was told he was being made redundant with immediate effect, that he would be paid in respect of his notice period, and that he had a right of appeal. The tribunal did not accept the claimant’s evidence that he had asked for “formal notification” in the contractual sense. It preferred the respondent’s evidence and the contemporaneous meeting note, and found that the communications on 20 and 21 March were consistent with agreed handover tasks rather than work under the contract.

The respondent accepted that email was not valid notice under clause 24(4), but it argued that the claimant’s conduct after 19 March 2021 showed that he had accepted the position and treated the contract as at an end. The tribunal agreed, finding that the claimant’s conduct was consistent with accepting the respondent’s repudiatory breach as to notice and was inconsistent with a continuing contract. It also noted that the contract contained a termination power under clause 14(1), but that point was not pursued as part of the respondent’s case. Both claims were dismissed.