Dismissing Employees with Long-Term Illnesses

Facilities managers and contractors should always be aware of the difficulties of dealing with long-term sick employees and the dangers of dismissing them. It is always dangerous to assume that a contract has been frustrated for illness but a recent case - Collins -v- Secretary of State for Trade and Industry - shows that sometimes this can happen. In this particular case an employee was actually asked if he wished to stay on the company's books or take redundancy because of sickness. The evidence was that in reality he had no real chance or wish to return to work.
The court decided that the contract was frustrated and had come to an end even though the parties had previously decided to keep it alive. This case shows that contracts can be frustrated by virtue of illness but that every case should be looked at very much on its own facts and advice taken before it is assumed that a contract is frustrated
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