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Unjustified dismissal of employee going to rival…

An employee has won her personal grievance claim for unjustified dismissal after she resigned to go to a rival business and was then sacked without notice.

There was no enforceable restraint of trade clause and the employer could not prevent the employee going to a rival.  The employer may have had concerns about the employee working out her notice period but this did not justify her dismissal.  The employer should have put her concerns to the employee and given her an opportunity to respond before deciding to take any disciplinary action.

A clause allowing payment in lieu of notice could have been useful in this situation.

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