At What Point Does A Notice Sent By Post Take Effect?

Unless there is an express contractual term stating otherwise, notice of termination of employment sent by post will take effect once the recipient has personally taken delivery of the letter.

Ms Haywood was employed by an NHS Trust. She was put at risk of redundancy at a consultation meeting, at which point she told the Trust she was due to go on holiday overseas. On 20 April 2011, the Trust sent 3 letters to Ms Haywood giving 12 weeks' notice of her dismissal. The first was sent by recorded delivery; as Ms Haywood was not home, a slip was left at her house on 21 April. Ms Haywood's father-in-law collected the letter from the sorting office on 26 April and left it at her house. Ms Haywood read the letter on 27 April, a few hours after her return from her holiday. The second letter was sent by standard post, and it is unclear what happened to it. The third was sent by email to Ms Haywood's husband by email, which he read on 27 April.

The Trust would have to pay Ms Haywood a higher pension if she was dismissed after her 50th birthday; in order to avoid that, notice of termination must have been effective by 26 April 2011. The Trust argued that it had been.

The Court of Appeal noted that there was no express term in Ms Haywood's employment contract specifying...