Offer of employment

Case 13: The facts

William Wright entered into discussions with a college about taking a position as part-time lecturer. He claimed to have been offered and accepted a job, and brought claims flowing from that contract. The college denied that a contract had ever been made, and a tribunal agreed.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the tribunal had wrongly focused on a subjective rather than an objective test when deciding whether there had been a contract. A contract is binding (subject to other factors) once an offer is accepted, as long as there is an “actual or apparent” intention that the offer will become binding once accepted. This means the offer was binding if a “reasonable person” would infer from the college’s words or conduct that it intended to be bound by the offer – even if this was not in fact its intention.

The case was sent back to the tribunal for reconsideration.

Wright v Canterbury Christ Church University College UKEAT/0428/04