Public statements by a takeover bidder guaranteeing continuation of an employer's redundancy policy can give rise to a unilateral contract with individual employees, with consideration provided by the employees remaining in employment. The employer communicating such statements acts as a conduit for the bidder's promises and does not itself become bound. An employer exercising discretion under a redundancy policy to decline ex gratia bonus payments during a financial crisis acts properly where the decision, though applied as a blanket policy, was preceded by consideration of individual circumstances and was a rational business decision in the prevailing economic conditions. An employer may require a broadly drafted deed of release as a condition of making a discretionary ex gratia payment, but may not require such a deed as a condition of paying a non-discretionary severance entitlement where the deed goes beyond what the redundancy policy contemplates.
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