Lees Solicitors - Tranmere sack Barnes and McAteer

Employment Law News

Tranmere sack Barnes and McAteer


Tranmere sack Barnes and McAteer

Tranmere Rovers today (9th October) sacked their Manager John Barnes and his Assistant Jason McAteer. Barnes became the tenth manager in the Football League to receive the boot this season, with Peter Taylor being axed by Wycombe Wanderers on the same day.

Barnes and McAteer had only been in charge for 4 months and would surely argue that they hadn't been given the time and resources needed by the Chairman, Peter Johnson. Employment Lawyer Matt Smith, of Lees Solicitors LLP asks whether Barnes and football managers in general have any employment rights, at a time when clubs seem to hire and fire at will.

In principle, John Barnes does have the same rights as any other employee, which for him unfortunately means very little. As he had only 4 months in charge he is not eligible to claim unfair dismissal, which requires a qualifying period of employment of 1 year.

Barnes could potentially claim loss of earnings, but only if Tranmere have committed a breach of his contract by sacking him. Whether there is a breach of contract will depend on the terms of his contract but it is likely that Tranmere have included sufficient terms within the contract to ensure they could release Barnes quickly if he didn't produce the results.

Of course, Barnes would also have to consider his future career before taking any sort of legal action. As a high profile figure, a claim against his former club would be well publicised making him a less attractive proposition to other clubs.

But generally speaking managers do have the same rights as employees, and if the conditions are right it can be well worth pursuing a claim. Newcastle were recently ordered to pay £2million to Kevin Keegan after he recently claimed constructive dismissal. Keegan claimed that he was forced to resign due to being undermined by the appointment of Denis Wise. His argument was accepted and he was awarded compensation for loss of earnings.

Barnes, on the other hand will probably be left wishing he had stayed in his job with the Jamaican national team.

Matt Smith

 

This article provides a summary of a recent case/change in law/news item. It is intended for general information purposes only and is not to be relied upon. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated under any circumstances as a substitute for legal advice. Lees Solicitors LLP does not accept any responsibility for any loss that may arise from reliance upon the information contained within this article. The copyright in this article is owned by Lees Solicitors LLP and permission must be sought before reproduction or publishing.


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