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Employment – Contract of service. The appellant's husband was found by the second respondent employer to have committed suicide, depriving her of the death benefits provided for in his employment contract. The Supreme Court held that a decision that an employee had committed suicide was not a rational or reasonable decision, unless the employer had had it clearly in mind that suicide was such an improbability that cogent evidence was required to form the positive opinion that it had taken place. In the present case, there was no sufficiently cogent evidence to justify the respondents in forming the positive opinion that the husband had committed suicide.
Employment – Contract of service. The appellant's husband was found by the second respondent employer to have committed suicide, depriving her of the death benefits provided for in his employment contract. The Supreme Court held that a decision that an employee had committed suicide was not a rational or reasonable decision, unless the employer had had it clearly in mind that suicide was such an improbability that cogent evidence was required to form the positive opinion that it had taken place. In the present case, there was no sufficiently cogent evidence to justify the respondents in forming the positive opinion that the husband had committed suicide.
Chair of the Bar reflects on 2025
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Rachel Davenport, Co-founder and Director at AlphaBiolabs, reflects on how the company’s Giving Back ethos continues to make a difference to communities across the UK
By Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
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Oscar Davies shares their lessons learnt
Little has changed since Burns v Burns . Cohabiting couples deserve better than to be left on the blasted heath with the existing witch’s brew for another four decades, argues Christopher Stirling
Six months of court observation at the Old Bailey: APPEAL’s Dr Nisha Waller and Tehreem Sultan report their findings on prosecution practices under joint enterprise
Despite its prevalence, autism spectrum disorder remains poorly understood in the criminal justice system. Does Alex Henry’s joint enterprise conviction expose the need to audit prisons? asks Dr Felicity Gerry KC
With automation now deeply embedded in the Department for Work Pensions, Alexander McColl and Alexa Thompson review what we know, what we don’t and avenues for legal challenge
