Devonald v Rosser & Sons
Encyclopedia
Devonald v Rosser & Sons [1906] 2 KB 728 is a UK labour law case concerning the contract of employment. It held that an implied term of employment contracts is that when there is no work available to be done, the employer must bear the risk by continuing to pay wages.
. He was paid for each completed box of 112 tin plates. His contract said he was required to do the tasks set by the employer and that he would get 28 days notice before termination. Unfortunately, tinplates were in decline and the employer announced the plant would close in two weeks. There was a six week period, therefore, when the employer gave no work. The question was whether the employer had to pay, given that payment was really according to piece.
Lord Alverston CJ went on to say that if there was a notice period, the worker could be bound to the employer for the time and unable to go and earn any wages at all.
Facts
In a test case, Mr Devonald was a tinplate rollerman at Rosser & Sons’ factory in Cilfrew, South WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. He was paid for each completed box of 112 tin plates. His contract said he was required to do the tasks set by the employer and that he would get 28 days notice before termination. Unfortunately, tinplates were in decline and the employer announced the plant would close in two weeks. There was a six week period, therefore, when the employer gave no work. The question was whether the employer had to pay, given that payment was really according to piece.
Judgment
Lord Alverston CJ (deciding a few months just after the 1906 general election) held that the contract was in fact a time service contract and that the employee did not bear the risk of plant closure.Lord Alverston CJ went on to say that if there was a notice period, the worker could be bound to the employer for the time and unable to go and earn any wages at all.
See also
- UK labour law
- Employment contract in English lawEmployment contract in English lawAn employment contract in English law is a specific kind of contract whereby one person performs work under the direction of another. The two main features of a contract is that work is exchanged for a wage, and that one party stands in a relationship of relative dependence, or inequality of...
- Autoclenz Ltd v BelcherAutoclenz Ltd v BelcherAutoclenz Ltd v Belcher [2011] is a significant UK labour law case decided by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, concerning the scope of statutory protection of rights for working individuals...
[2011] UKSC 41 - Fortune v National Cash Register Co, 373 Mass 96, 364 NE 2d 1251 (1977) terminating an employee’s employment shortly before a large commission on sales fell due breached an obligation to perform the contract in good faith.