Employees’ implied contractual duties

Every employment contract includes a number of implied duties owed by the employee, in particular:

• a duty of fidelity and good faith — for example, not giving away trade secrets (Ticehurst and Thompson v BT [1992] IRLR 219);

• a duty to obey reasonable and lawful orders;

• a duty to take reasonable care of your own health and safety.

In Cresswell v Inland Revenue Board [1984] ICR 508, a court held that an employee has an implied duty to adapt to new methods and techniques in performing contractual tasks, as long as the employer has arranged necessary training in the new skills, and as long as the work does not significantly change beyond what the employee was contractually obliged to do. Mr Cresswell worked as a tax officer and objected to a change from a manual to a computerised system. The court decided that HMRC was not in breach of contract in enforcing the change in work methods, having supplied the necessary training.