Termination of employment against the will of an employee; the end of an action or claim before a judgment has been delivered, often during the very early stages.

Used to describe a situation where an employer dismisses an employee in breach of employment law, which may give rise to legal proceedings for reinstatement and/or compensation for dismissal.

A legal document, usually in writing, giving details of a formal legally binding agreement, between two or more different people or groups. To be legally binding it must contain certain elements: it must contain an offer made by one party and accepted in its entirety by the other, it must include some form of consideration whether it be money, goods or services, and it must be properly signed by all parties to it, and dated.

A contract in which all elements of a contract are specifically stated (offer, acceptance and consideration), and the terms are set out, as compared with an implied contract in which the existence of the contract is assumed by the circumstances.

A decision of a court regarding the rights and liabilities of the parties to legal proceedings. Judgments generally provide the court’s explanation as to why it has chosen to make a particular decision.