Regulating Dismissals : The Impact of Unfair Dismissal Legislation on the Common Law Contract of Employment

This paper examines the impact of English and Australian unfair dismissal legislation on the common law rules which govern the termination of the employment contract. To explore this issue, the paper first outlines some general approaches to the interaction between statute law and the common law, and then considers the particular collision between unfair dismissal laws and the common law in the UK and Australia. This is followed by a consideration of the objectives of unfair dismissal laws and the way in which those laws provided the necessary environment for the development of the implied duty of mutual trust and confidence. Finally, the paper concludes with some remarks about the consequences of the collision between unfair dismissal laws and common law principles