Breach of Contract

By law, all employees must be given written terms and conditions of employment within two months of commencing employment. A tribunal may award up to 4 weeks’ wages if there are no such written terms in place. Our experienced breach of contract solicitors can guide you through this process.

There are various terms implied into an employment relationship, for example mutual trust and confidence. An employee can make a claim in the employment tribunal and/or civil court if their employer is in breach of contract in relation to any of the implied or express contractual terms.

If an employee brings a breach of contract claim in the tribunal for example for failure to pay wages then the employer is entitled to bring a counterclaim against the employee.

A claim must be lodged in the tribunal within 3 months of the breach of contract and a tribunal fee paid.

Sometimes it may be tactically better for an employee to lodge an unlawful deduction claim instead of a breach of contract claim. The reasons are as follows:

1. Unlawful deductions from wages claims can be brought before the end of the employment contract;
2. Breach of contract claims are limited to a value of £25,000 in the tribunal, there is no upper limit to an unlawful deduction from wages claim.

Employment breach of contract claims may also be lodged in the civil courts and therefore you should weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of an employment tribunal versus a civil court.

Instead of bringing a claim in the employment tribunal or court, you could also consider trying to negotiate a settlement agreement with your employer. Our breach of contract solicitors have a wealth of experience in successfully negotiating settlement agreements.