Colonial Cases
Reid v. Malcolm, 1864
[master and servant]
Reid and Co. v. Malcolm
Consular Court, Shanghai
1864
Source: The North-China Herald &c., 3 December 1864
H.B.M. CONSULAR COURT.
Before - J. MARKHAM, Esq., H.B.M.'s Vice-Consul,
J. B. NEWBURY, C. J. SKEGGS, Assessors.
REID & Co. v. J. W. MALCOLM.
The plaintiff sought to recover Tls. 435, by which amount the plaintiff had overdrawn his account before having their [????].
The defendant admitted that he had received the account but claimed a set-off of Tls. 175 for one month's salary, which he contended was due to him on the principle that an employer could not dismiss his employee without a month's notice. Mr. Dunn had dismissed him summarily, and that being the case was bound to give him the month's salary which was held in law to be the alternative of a month's notice.
The Court however, decided that employers had a right to dismiss their servants for misconduct; and Mr. Malcolm's dismissal had been in consequence of negligence which had put Messrs. Reid & Co. to expense. Judgment was therefore given to the plaintiffs for the full amount claimed.