Contracts - the key developments

• In certain circumstances, office-holders can also be employees; it is also possible to be employed by two different employers simultaneously, provided the employment is not incompatible (case 1).

• Employees must give credit against unfair dismissal compensation for sums earned during their notice period if they were constructively – as opposed to actually – dismissed by their employer (case 2).

• Workers may lose their right to take all of their statutory holiday within the leave year if they request it towards the end of the leave year at a time when it may not fit in with the staffing patterns of the business (case 3).

• If worded sufficiently clearly, a contractual provision may allow an employer to vary its own contractual obligations without the employee’s consent (case 4).