Case law: Employers may have to give an employee a statement of terms of employment, even if their employment ends within two months
Employers must give an employee a statement of terms, even if their employment is terminated before expiry of the two-month period for giving them such a statement, provided they were employed for at least a month, a recent ruling makes clear.
February 2019
This update was published in Legal Alert - February 2019
Legal Alert is a monthly checklist from Atom Content Marketing highlighting new and pending laws, regulations, codes of practice and rulings that could have an impact on your business.
An employee at a hotel was dismissed after six weeks. She claimed, among other things, that she should have received a statement of employment particulars. The law requires such a statement to be given to a new employee within two months of starting work. The employer argued that as she had only been employed for six weeks, the obligation had not been triggered.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) highlighted an exception in the rules which says that an employee is not entitled to a statement if they have been employed for less than one month. The EAT said this meant the requirement to give employees a statement was triggered after one month, so they became entitled to one after a month - even if their employment is subsequently terminated before the two-month period had expired.
Operative date
- Now
Recommendation
- Employers must ensure they give an employee a statement of terms, even if their employment is terminated before expiry of the two-month period for giving them such a statement, provided they were employed for at least a month
Case ref: Stefanko and others v Maritime Hotel Ltd UKEAT/0024/18/OO
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