The law is stated as at 19 December 2007
Are there any future developments expected in the area of wrongful dismissal?
Unusually for employment law, the core principles relating to wrongful dismissal are relatively settled as it is a contractual concept. No major future developments are expected.
A possible jurisdictional change could arise from the courts’ recommendation that the £25,000 limit on wrongful claims in the tribunal is ripe for review.
As the legal principles governing wrongful dismissal concern well established principles of contract law, significant changes, if any, will probably result from decided cases. The most significant legal development over the last few years or so has been several cases dealing with the relationship between contractual claims based on the implied term of trust and confidence and unfair dismissal claims. Some employees have brought court proceedings for breach of the implied term of trust and confidence (sometimes claiming large sums) as well as unfair dismissal claims in the tribunal. The House of Lords decided that this approach is appropriate where the breach of the implied term occurs separately from the dismissal - see Eastwood and another v Magnox Electric plc and McCabe v Cornwall County Council [2004] UKHL 35. Future case law developments may emerge from refinements to this principle.
For details of developments since this update see our Recent developments section.
While every care has been taken in compiling these notes, the CIPD cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions; the notes are not intended to be a substitute for specific legal advice.