Employee and employer must have strong ties to United Kingdom to qualify
A new decision in the United Kingdom's House of Lords means employees can claim unfair dismissal under British law even if they work abroad.
Stephen Lawson, a former security officer for business service firm Serco, claimed he was forced to work a 64-hour week on an island in the south Atlantic.
Serco, a British company that runs public services on Ascension, allegedly forced Lawson to work such long hours that "his health and safety were put in peril" and he resigned, claiming constructive dismissal.
However, the Court of Appeal ruled that under the law he had no legal protection because all of his duties were carried out overseas.
The case went to the House of Lords and it decided Lawson had the right to claim unfair dismissal because both employer and employee had close connections with the U.K.
Lord Hoffman, giving his judgment, added that the decision could be different for expatriates who would not be entitled to protection unless there was a factor "so powerful that the employment relationship has a closer connection with Great Britain than with the foreign country where the employee works."
Stephen Lawson, a former security officer for business service firm Serco, claimed he was forced to work a 64-hour week on an island in the south Atlantic.
Serco, a British company that runs public services on Ascension, allegedly forced Lawson to work such long hours that "his health and safety were put in peril" and he resigned, claiming constructive dismissal.
However, the Court of Appeal ruled that under the law he had no legal protection because all of his duties were carried out overseas.
The case went to the House of Lords and it decided Lawson had the right to claim unfair dismissal because both employer and employee had close connections with the U.K.
Lord Hoffman, giving his judgment, added that the decision could be different for expatriates who would not be entitled to protection unless there was a factor "so powerful that the employment relationship has a closer connection with Great Britain than with the foreign country where the employee works."
