An employee’s dismissal took place on the date she read a letter informing her of her summary dismissal, not the date that the letter was written, posted or delivered.
That is the effect of the The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) case of Gisda Cyf v Barratt [2009] EWCA Civ 648.
At a disciplinary hearing on 28 November 2006, the employer sent the employee home and advised that a letter concerning possible dismissal would be sent that week. The employee went on holiday. The employer’s letter was sent by recorded delivery on Thursday 30 November 2006 and was signed for on the employee’s behalf. The employee telephoned home but did not ask about the letter. She came home on the Sunday night and opened the letter on Monday, 4 December 2006.
Her claim for unfair dismissal would only have been brought within the three-month time limit if her effective termination date was Monday, 4 December 2006, the day she opened the letter.
The EAT upheld the tribunal’s decision that it had jurisdiction to hear the claim, relying on the doctrine that termination is only effective when communicated.
The decision may have been different had the employee deliberately gone away to avoid receiving the letter or had deliberately avoided opening it.
