Macari v Celtic, [1999] ScotCS 138
Citation: Macari v Celtic, [1999] ScotCS 138
Rule of thumb: If you consistently breach minor terms of an employment contract, after many warnings not to, is this a sackable offence? Yes, repeatedly breaching minor terms of an employment contract & ignoring warnings is a sackable offence even if the material terms are being abided.
Judgment:
Where an employee outright refuses to follow legitimate and lawful instructions, this is a ground for dismissal, regardless of whether these instructions are a material part of their job or not. Employees must be obedient and obey all legitimate and lawful instructions, "The true position seems to me to be that, if an employee is faced with a breach of the trust and confidence term by his employer but chooses to continue to work and draw his salary, he must do the work in accordance with the terms of his contract. That in turn means that, as regards his work, he must obey any lawful and legitimate instructions which his employer gives him. It is in return for such work in conformity with the contract that the employer is obliged to pay the employee his salary under the contract. On the other hand, in no relevant sense could it be said that an employee's obligation to do his work in accordance with the lawful and legitimate instructions of his employers is, in the words of Lord Jauncey, 'the counterpart of' his employer's obligation under the implied term.... So, where the employee chooses to continued to work under the contract, his employer's breach of the implied term does not entitle the employee to disregard the employer's lawful and legitimate instructions as to his work".
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.