An important recent decision of the Supreme Court (Newcastle
Upon Tyne Hospitals NUS Foundation Trust v Haywood) has
clarified the common law position as to when notice of dismissal
communicated by post starts to run.
Ms Haywood was employed as a business development director. The
NHS Trust decided that it wished to make her post redundant shortly
before her 50th birthday on 20th July 2011 when she would qualify
for a non-actuarially reduced early retirement pension.
Her employer wrote to her by recorded delivery on 20 April
giving notice or purporting to give 12 weeks' notice to
terminate her employment on 15 July 2011. Ms Haywood was on holiday
and so the postman took the letter back to the sorting office. Her
father-in-law collected it and took it back to her house on 26
April. She read it on 27 April upon her return from holiday. The
employer argued that notice had been given no later than 26 April
and that it duly expired well before her birthday on 20 July so
