E. Termination by notice(1) Notice in generalThis section looks at the common law principles around the giving of notice of termination. It does not deal with the concept of the 'effective date of termination' in the statutory law of unfair dismissal (for which see DI [725.01]) and the concept of the 'relevant date' in redundancy law (for which see E [81]). The latter are different concepts with, for example, potential (not available at common law) for an extension of the date of termination.At common law, dismissal may be effected without good cause. In Rawlinson v Brightside Group Ltd [2018] IRLR 180, EAT, it was said (at [34]) that 'the implied term [of trust and confidence] import[s] no common law obligation upon an employer to exercise a contractual right to dismiss fairly or in good faith.' There is no implied term to the effect that an employer will only dismiss for cause and give an employee the chance to show that such cause does not exist. Such is of course the province of an unfair dismissal claim.The corollary of this is that the employee can resign whenever they wish. It was held in Alesco Risk Management Services Ltd v Bishopsgate Insurance Brokers Ltd [2019] EWHC 2839 (QB) that there were no contractual or fiduciary restrictions on an employee's ability to resign (other than as to notice), nor as to the timing of the same. An employee could
This section looks at the common law principles around the giving of notice of termination. It does not deal with the concept of the 'effective date of termination' in the statutory law of unfair dismissal (for which see DI [725.01]) and the concept of the 'relevant date' in redundancy law (for which see E [81]). The latter are different concepts with, for example, potential (not available at common law) for an extension of the date of termination.
At common law, dismissal may be effected without good cause. In Rawlinson v Brightside Group Ltd [2018] IRLR 180, EAT, it was said (at [34]) that 'the implied term [of trust and confidence] import[s] no common law obligation upon an employer to exercise a contractual right to dismiss fairly or in good faith.' There is no implied term to the effect that an employer will only dismiss for cause and give an employee the chance to show that such cause does not exist. Such is of course the province of an unfair dismissal claim.
The corollary of this is that the employee can resign whenever they wish. It was held in Alesco Risk Management Services Ltd v Bishopsgate Insurance Brokers Ltd [2019] EWHC 2839 (QB) that there were no contractual or fiduciary restrictions on an employee's ability to resign (other than as to notice), nor as to the timing of the same. An employee could
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