Notice of dismissal

Case 7: The facts

Mr Rai failed to return to work after a demotion. His employers wrote to him, urging his return and stating that if he did not comply he would be dismissed. Rai claimed that the letter amounted to a dismissal with notice.

The issue was important because he could only make a tribunal claim if the dismissal had occurred no more than three months earlier.

The ruling

The EAT held that the employment was terminated when Rai failed to come back to work despite the letter asking him to do so. The letter itself did not amount to a notice of dismissal.

Where an employer delivers this kind of ultimatum, it is not a notice to terminate the contract; it is informing the employee that, should s/he not turn up to work, s/he may be dismissed.

Rai v Somerfield [2004] IRLR 124