Employment termination after reasonable notice (period of notice already fixed)

Employment termination after reasonable notice – COURT HOLDING

Where a contract of employment empowers an employer to terminate an employee’s appointment on giving a stated period of notice, a term will not be implied into the contract to enable termination after reasonable notice.

Oyenuga and Four Others v. Ife University Provisional Council (1964) NCLR (page 8, lines 1-11) H.C. (West)

Aspect of Law: Contract

Facts of the Case

The Plaintiff and four others brought a consolidated action against the defendants to recover salary and emoluments in lieu of notice for a specific period of time.

The Plaintiff was employed as a professor at the university of Ife under the service conditions in force in 1962. These conditions provided that appointments were tenable for three years in the first instance and, on confirmation, until retirement at 60 or 65.

However, the practice in universities was to waive the probationary three-year period in the case of a professor and to make the appointment until retirement. The Plaintiff’s appointment was terminated before the expiry of this period for alleged misconduct and he was given six months’ notice of such termination. Accordingly, the present proceedings were instituted to recover salary and emoluments.

Ack: Alan Milner. All Rights Reserved (LawHub NG).