Ian Smith pays tribute to some end of term judicial desk clearance
There was a considerable element of judicial desk clearance before the Christmas break, to such an extent that it has been difficult to choose the case law most meriting comment here. Pride of place must go to a Supreme Court decision on contractual liabilities on dismissal, which is of most note for what it did not decide. This case takes up most of this column, but it also contains briefer coverage of another much awaited Supreme Court case, this time on how statutory holidays apply to offshore workers (and possibly to others with unusual working patterns), and an important Court of Appeal decision on a tricky point of TUPE law, arising where there are contemporaneous administration proceedings (often in so-called “pre-pack” cases).
Edwards v Chesterfield
The decision of the Supreme Court in Edwards v Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Trust; Botham v Ministry of Defence [2011] UKSC 58, [2011] All ER (D) 101 (Dec) stops a potentially major extension of contractual liability on termination, particularly for high earners wanting to recover
