Wrongful dismissal

Case 1: The facts

Miss Nsaba was offered a job by a law firm, subject to receipt of satisfactory references. A few days after she started work, the firm received a reference which raised concerns; Nsaba was asked to attend a meeting to discuss this. She claimed that she was dismissed during the meeting; the firm said she was not, and continued to invite her to meetings which she did not attend.

When Nsaba made it clear that she was not returning to work (insisting that she had been dismissed and claiming one month’s notice), the firm took her refusal to return as a resignation.

The ruling

Nsaba’s actions made it clear, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) said, that she had made a decision not to be bound by her employment contract; this was a breach of contract, which her employer had accepted when it wrote to confirm that her employment had ended.

The EAT added that, even if this had not been the case, it was likely that Nsaba’s failure to provide satisfactory references would have discharged the contract and all rights under it – so she would not have been entitled to notice anyway.