Jennifer Lee assesses the level of obligation owed by employers to former employees
The recent case of McKie v Swindon College [2011] EWHC 469 (QB), [2011] All ER (D) 128 (May) has extended the obligations owed by a former employer to a former employee when commenting on his performance. The case did not concern comments made in a reference, but rather in an e-mail sent six years after the former employee had left his employment.
Obligations to former employees
Case law had, until recently, been limited to establishing that an employer owed a duty of care in providing a reference about an employee or former employee where it was foreseeable that any information provided would be relied upon by a prospective employer and, therefore, potentially cause loss to that employee. If the employer breaches that duty and the employee suffers economic loss as a result, he can claim damages either for negligent misstatement or breach of contract.
This principle derives from the House of Lords’ decision in Spring v Guardian Assurance plc [1995] 2 AC 296, [1994] 3 All ER 129,
