How long to submit breach of contract claim?

[Dominic]

I took my ex-employer to a tribunal for unfair dismissal but I lost. In the written judgement the judge confirmed several areas where the employer had not carried out the disciplinary process as per disciplinary procedures. As the disciplinary procedures formed part of my employment contract, this amounted to a breach of contract.

Its been a couple of years since i was dismissed and wondered what the time limit was on bringing a claim for breach of contract in this instance (not to an employment tribunal because that avenue is no longer open)

Thanks

[charitynjw]

Re: How long to submit breach of contract claim?

I'll give [MENTION=51026]Ula[/MENTION] & [MENTION=26290]mariefab[/MENTION] a nudge for you.

[pt2537]

Re: How long to submit breach of contract claim?

I took my ex-employer to a tribunal for unfair dismissal but I lost. In the written judgement the judge confirmed several areas where the employer had not carried out the disciplinary process as per disciplinary procedures. As the disciplinary procedures formed part of my employment contract, this amounted to a breach of contract.

Its been a couple of years since i was dismissed and wondered what the time limit was on bringing a claim for breach of contract in this instance (not to an employment tribunal because that avenue is no longer open)

Thanks

A breach of contract claim would fall under s5 Limitation Act 1980, so would have a limitation period of 6 years from the accrual of the cause of action

[Dominic]

Re: How long to submit breach of contract claim?

Thanks. That now leads to my next question; how much is a breach of contract likely to be worth? I lost my job so what could I claim for?

[ULA]

Re: How long to submit breach of contract claim?

I would advise to think carefully before taking any legal action against your ex-employer. Ask yourself what you want to achieve and whether it would be worth the cost. You will only get compensation (called 'damages') if you can prove real financial loss there is no compensation for distress or hurt feelings.

As you would be pursuing the claim via the civil courts you should be aware they are governed by the Civil Procedure Rules which are more complex and formal than the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure. Also the losing party does generally have to pay the winner's legal costs (although it is unlikely that this would amount to paying 100% of the winner's legal costs).
[MENTION=551]pt2537[/MENTION] may be able to give you better advice on the process and likely costs than I can.

[Dominic]

Re: How long to submit breach of contract claim?

My financial loss was the loss of my salary. I havent been able to get a similar job since and am being turned down for other jobs because im seen as too over qualified. If I could recoup some or all of that salary I lost then I would offset that against the cost of taking action, see whats left and then decide if its worthwhile taking action.

Do breach of contract damages include loss of earnings? If they dont then there is no point me carrying on with it.

There is no doubt the contract was breached, all the evidence and admissions are contained within the ET bundle; so proving it wont be a problem.

[Dominic]

Re: How long to submit breach of contract claim?

I am finding mixed information online as to whether loss of earnings can be included in damages. I would have thought it would because it is still a financial loss but some sites are saying i can only claim lost earnings for any notice period I wasnt paid. Surely if an ET has the ability to award for lost earning and future lost earnings, then a county court should also be able to award those things in the case of a breach of contract. Another worrying thing is that some sites are saying the value of my case must be over £40,000 to go to a county court, below that is dealt with by ET. Can anyone give some clarification on the above. Thanks