An employee who e-mailed vast numbers of confidential documents to her home computer, purportedly to arm herself for a possible future dispute with her employer, was held to have breached her duty of good faith (even though she had not used or disclosed the information). She was ordered to surrender her hard drive to the employer.
The court doubted that the possibility of litigation with an employer could ever justify an employee copying confidential documents for their own retention, given that the court's own disclosure processes are available should litigation ensue.
The court also ruled that an employer can rely on an employee's repudiatory breach to dismiss the employee even if the employer has committed a prior repudiatory breach. Conduct by the employer which is relevant to the employee's breach will be context for judging the seriousness of the employee's conduct. There is conflicting authority on this issue, which can only be resolved by the Court of Appeal. (Brandeaux Advisers (UK) Ltd v Chadwick, HC)
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