ABSTRACT
In Hill v CA Parsons & Co Ltd,26 the plaintiff, an engineer, had been employed by the defendants for 35 years and was due to retire in two years’ time. For the greater part of his working life, he had not been a trade union member, but the defendants entered into an collective agreement with the trade union DATA that all employees would become union members under a closed shop arrangement. The plaintiff refused to join the union and was dismissed under union pressure. An interlocutory injunction was granted to restrain the employer from wrongfully dismissing an employee. The majority of the Court of Appeal thought that damages were inadequate, and that the granting of an injunction would preserve the contract of employment so that the employee could use the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act 1971, which protected an employee from dismissal if he did not join a trade union. Departure from the general rule was thought to be justified only where damages were inadequate and there was still complete confidence between employer and employee. The order only extended to the payment of wages, and did not allow the employee to attend at his place of work, nor did it compel the employer to provide work for the employee:
Hill v CA Parsons & Co Ltd [1972] 1 Ch 305, CA, p 314 Lord Denning MR: Suppose, however, that the master insists on the employment terminating on the named day? What is the consequence in law? In the ordinary course of things, the relationship of master and servant thereupon comes to an end; for it is inconsistent with the confidential nature of the relationship that it should continue contrary to the will of one of the parties thereto.
