Issues arising on termination

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A contract of employment can end in various ways, including dismissal, resignation and frustration. Unless the contract of employment specifically states otherwise, termination need not be effected in writing, and can, for example, be done orally.

If an employer wishes to dismiss an employee lawfully, the dismissal must not be unfair nor breach the employee's contract of employment. Having taken the decision to dismiss, there are further decisions for the employer, eg whether or not to:

  1. •

    give notice

  2. •

    pay the employee in lieu of notice, and/or

  3. •

    put the employee on garden leave

Distinguishing dismissal from other forms of termination

Not all terminations amount to a dismissal. Termination can also occur:

  1. •

    by resignation (although sometimes resignations will occur in circumstances that amount to a constructive dismissal)

  2. •

    by mutual consent, or

  3. •

    by operation of law

Tribunals are reluctant to find that there has been termination by mutual consent. Termination by operation of law is rare; its most common form is frustration of the contract. The expiry of a fixed-term contract without it being renewed is not a dismissal at common

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Latest Employment News

Government launches four Employment Rights Bill-related consultations

The government announced on 23 October 2025 the start of four new consultations on key Make Work Pay measures that are included in the Employment Rights Bill.

MoJ announces NDA reform to prevent silencing of crime victims

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced draft amendments to section 17 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (VPA 2024) to prevent the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that conceal criminal conduct. The current VPA 2024, s 17 makes NDAs void to the extent that they preclude a victim from disclosing information to specified categories of recipient. The proposed new VPA 2024, s 17 will allow victims of criminal conduct, or those who reasonably believe they are victims, to disclose information to anyone, including family, friends, employers and journalists, for any purpose. NDAs will be void insofar as they attempt to prevent such disclosures relating to criminal conduct or the response of an employer or other party to that conduct. The amendment will also empower the Secretary of State to make regulations setting criteria for ‘excepted agreements’ in limited, legitimate circumstances, and will include express exemptions for NDAs entered into by His Majesty in a private capacity, the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service and the Government Communications Headquarters. Supported by Victims Minister, Alex Davies-Jones MP, and campaigners such as Zelda Perkins of Can’t Buy My Silence UK, the reform forms part of the government’s Plan for Change to restore confidence in the justice system, strengthen victims’ rights, and help halve violence against women and girls.

Employment weekly highlights—23 October 2025

This edition of Employment weekly highlights includes: (1) a revised draft regulation amending the list of bodies to which permitted disclosures can be made under section 17 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, (2) a further draft regulation replacing VPA 2024, s 17 in its entirety, to allow a victim of criminal conduct (or a person who reasonably believes they are a victim) to make a disclosure to anyone (including family, friends, employers and journalists), for any purpose, (3) EAT decisions highlighting the need for clarity when a disciplinary process is initiated during notice period and providing a reminder that a debarred respondent should generally be able to participate in a remedy hearing, (4) news that the DBT has ‘named and shamed’ 491 companies for failing to pay the national minimum wage, (5) a joint submission by the Trans Advocacy and Complaints Collective and the Trans Exile Network to the Council of Europe’s Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, asking it to reopen enforcement of ECHR judgments in Goodwin v UK and Grant v UK, (6) a letter from the EHRC to the Minister for Women and Equalities, urging her to approve the updated Code of Practice for services etc without further delay, (7) a letter from the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, to the Chairs of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and of the Women and Equalities Committee outlining concerns about the current climate for trans people in the UK, (8) a planned employment tribunal outage on 11 November 2025, (9) a new playbook for a pro-client, company-to-company consultancy agreement, (10) dates for your diary, and (11) other news items of interest to employment practitioners.

ONS releases 2025 annual survey for hours and earnings figures

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published the 2025 provisional results and measures of employee earnings and working hours, drawing on data from the annual survey of hours and earnings. The results provide annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees, categorised by sex and employment type, including full-time and part-time.

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