ARTICLE · 01 OCTOBER 2008

The Elusive Implied Term Of ´Trust And Confidence´

Moray & Agnew

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The Supreme Court of South Australia recently became the first court in Australia to award damages for the breach of an implied term of trust and confidence in an employment contract.

AustraliaEmployment and HR

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The Supreme Court of South Australia recently became the first court in Australia to award damages for the breach of an implied term of trust and confidence in an employment contract.

The Court awarded $392,850 plus costs in favour of an employee who made a claim for breach of contract at common law.

McDonald v State of South Australia¹

Mr McDonald was a high school teacher employed by the South Australian Department of Education and Children Services ('DECS'). From the time he commenced employment in 1996, he was asked by his school principal to look after the school's computers and networks in addition to undertaking a full-time teaching load. Mr McDonald agreed to the request despite having no formal qualifications in IT.

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