Defective disciplinary proceedings

Edwards v Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2010] EWCA Civ 571 26 May; SJ 1 June p28

The employee was a surgeon who claimed damages of around £4.3m for breach of contract arising out of damage and loss of status as a result of being summarily dismissed following findings of personal and professional misconduct in disciplinary proceedings which had been conducted in breach of contract. The question on the appeal was if it could be established that the findings of conduct would not have been made if the disciplinary process had been properly conducted could the employee recover damages at large. The employee submitted that since his contract of employment did not exclude liability for the type of loss he was seeking to recover, he was entitled to be compensated in full for his expenses and loss of earnings up to the date of the proceedings, future loss of earnings to retirement and future loss of pension. The trust argued that the law precluded recovery of substantial damages for breach of disciplinary procedures incorporated into a person’s contract.