Important implied contractual duties 


In every employment relationship, employers owe an implied contractual duty of mutual trust and confidence, including a general duty to act fairly and in good faith when conducting disciplinary processes. This includes any investigation (Chakrabarty v Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust [2014] EWHC2735). 


There is an implied contractual duty not to engage in unjustified delay (Lim v Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust [2011] EWHC 2178).


There is also an implied contractual duty to act reasonably and promptly to allow employees to obtain redress for their grievances (WA Goold (Pearmak) Limited v McConnell [1995] IRLR 516a) (see Chapter 11: Grievance Procedures).


There is an implied contractual duty to exercise discretion rationally, lawfully and in good faith (Hornulak v Cantor Fitzgerald International [2004] IRLR 942).


There is an implied duty not to cause reasonably foreseeable psychiatric injury. This duty is discussed in Chapter 5.