When is the effective date of termination?
Where an employee is dismissed with 6 months notice that expires on 1 February, but where a summary dismissal takes place on 21 January?
The answer is 21 January.
The summary dismissal trumps the earlier dismissal with notice according to the case of M-Choice UK Limited v Aalders reported on the EAT website today. Aalders applies the long held principle in Stapp v The Shaftesbury Society. That principle looks at when the contract terminates – a summary dismissal during a notice period will bring forward an effective date of termination.
![Tarbuc v Martello Piling Limited [2026]](https://pjhlaw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ambush.png)
