Tom Brown succeeds at persuading Court of Appeal to uphold novel High Court judgment for pension loss

Tom Brown

Tom Brown, of Cloisters, instructed by Irwin Mitchell, has persuaded the Court of Appeal to uphold a £250,000 judgment for pension loss which he secured in 2014, following the wrongful dismissal of his client, a senior NHS employee.

This legally novel case concerned when, at common law, notice takes effect (previous cases have considered when termination is effective for the purpose of statutory claims). In Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust v Haywood, the Court of Appeal holds that a letter, dismissing Mrs Haywood on notice, sent while she was on holiday, was not effective until she read it on her return. The Court of Appeal also dismisses the Trust’s arguments about waiver and estoppel and has refused the Trust permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. The case provides an interesting exploration of when notices sent by post are effective.