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Billington v Michael Hunter and Sons Ltd

- An offer by an employer to allow an employee to resign on
favourable terms thus keeping a "clean" CV can be an important factor
in enabling the employee to resign and claim constructive dismissal
on the basis that the employer had breached the implied term of trust
and confidence implied into employment contracts

http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2003/0578_03_1610.html

BNP Paribas v Mezzotero

- The fact that a discussion between an employee and an employer is
described by the employer as being "without prejudice" does NOT of
itself automatically mean that evidence of that discussion is barred
from being used as evidence in a subsequent case relating to the same
subject matter.

http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2004/0218_04_3003.html

Quote: Concluding paragraphs:

"In the present case, as Mr Galbraith-Marten points out, the logical result of Mr Davies' submission is that an employer in dispute with a black employee could say during discussions aimed at settlement in a meeting expressed to be being held without prejudice, "we do not want you here because you are black" and could then seek to argue that the discussions should be excluded from consideration by a Tribunal hearing a complaint of race discrimination.

Mr Davies immediately says that such a remark would obviously fall under the umbrella of unambiguous impropriety. I agree. However, Mr Davies is then faced with the unattractive task of attaching different levels of impropriety to fact-sensitive allegations of discrimination, in order to submit that the present remarks do not fall under the same umbrella. I do not regard that as a permissible approach. I would regard the employer's conduct, as alleged in the
circumstances of the present case, as falling within that umbrella and as an exception to the "without prejudice" rule within the abuse principle, rather than it was as previously described, in terms of prejudice in the case of re Daintrey.

I do not regard this case as creating an impermissible extension to the categories of the rule, exceptions which will always fall to be considered within the particular factual context of the case and which, in the present case concerns discriminatory conduct by employers towards one of their employees. For all these reasons this appeal must be dismissed."