Dismissal Effective Once Dismissal Letter Read

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held in Gisda CYF v Barratt UKEAT/0173/08/ZT that the effective date of termination of employment took place when the employee read the letter terminating her employment and not when the letter was received in the post. This meant that in the present case, the employee's claim for unfair dismissal was in time.

Miss Barratt attended a disciplinary hearing on a Tuesday. She was sent home and told to expect a letter concerning possible dismissal in the following two days. The letter arrived by recorded delivery on Thursday and was signed for by a third party as Miss Barratt was away at the time. Miss Barratt returned home the following Sunday night and although she had phoned home while she was away, she did not enquire about the arrival of the letter or open it until Monday morning.

The Employment Tribunal held that Miss Barratt had not gone away intentionally to avoid receiving the letter nor had she avoided opening it. If she had done so, she may have been barred from relying on the doctrine that the decision to terminate employment is effective when it is communicated. There was no obligation on Miss Barratt to enquire about the letter or its contents over the phone. Had the correct test been based on the date of receipt of the letter, Miss Barratt's claims would have been out of time.