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A distinction must be drawn between a dismissal on the one hand, and on the other a repudiation of a contract of employment as a result of a breach of a fundamental term of that contract. When such a repudiation has been accepted by the innocent party then a termination of employment takes place. Such termination does not constitute dismissal (see London v. James Laidlaw & Sons Ltd (1974) IRLR 136 and Gannon v. J. C. Firth (1976) IRLR 415 EAT).

This report is the result of a five‐month survey of information provision in the London Borough of Islington. It looks at information on learning opportunities for adults and complements Brenda Neale's survey of adult learner needs which identified a lack of accessible information as a major barrier for adults in the Borough wishing to return to learning.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent, sources, diversity, costs, formats and content of food safety educational interventions for consumers provided by UK Local Authorities (LAs). Inadequate implementation of food safety practices in the home is known to contribute to the incidence of foodborne disease and therefore effective food safety education concerning risks and correct domestic food‐handling behaviours is essential.

A postal questionnaire was administered to all Environmental Health and Health Promotion departments in LAs in 2004 (n=436). The questionnaire assessed the extent of LA provision of consumer food safety advice, types, formats and content of interventions, rationale for information provision, methods used for design and delivery of information and participation in national initiatives.

A considerable quantity of food safety advice is provided to UK consumers; in general this is variable between regions, variable in quality, infrequently evaluated and relatively uncoordinated. Overall, 95 per cent of UK LAs who responded to the questionnaire reported current provision of consumer food safety advice. The most common intervention used for provision of consumer hygiene information was leaflets (93 per cent of LAs) and data indicated that this is likely to continue. Hand‐washing (87 per cent), cross‐contamination (85 per cent) and cooking (77 per cent) were the most common issues reportedly addressed in hygiene initiatives. Less than a third of LAs reported evaluating the effectiveness of food hygiene advice.

This study has provided evidence of a large quantity of unique and diverse intervention materials across the UK, and suggests the need for the sharing of information materials and areas of innovation between LAs. Provision of generic, managed and co‐ordinated general and targeted food safety education resources in the UK may not only decrease important time and financial costs within LAs, but also increase consumer confidence in the accuracy of information provided and alleviate the risk for potential confusion of information from differing sources.

The importance of providing clear, relevant information and advice for older people has been recognised by health care professionals, politicians and policy makers. Key policies (Better Government for Older People, 1998; Better Care Higher Standards, 2000; National Service Framework for Older People, 2001) have restated the importance of such provision specifically in relation to older people. A literature search and an examination of local authority websites were key sources of information for the study designed to explore the elements of guidelines for good practice. In addition we examined the websites of three major providers of information and advice for older people. Older people's views as to what constitutes good quality information and advice were explored in three focus groups. These four sources of data are the basis for the findings reported in this paper. This paper reports the limitations in the existing provision of information and advice for older people. Key features emerging from the research were that the involvement of older people in every stage of the process of design, production, dissemination and monitoring of information and advice was necessary. Older people valued face‐to‐face contact in the provision of information and advice.

Aims to demonstrate whether consumers influence provision of environmental communications by the UK food sector, challenging the view that such reporting is principally targeted at institutional stakeholders and shareholders.

Web site research was undertaken on a sample of 43 manufacturers and 16 retailers on provision of environmental information of a policy (intent) or reporting (action‐based) nature, analysed using chi‐square techniques assessing the significance of turnover, public listing, brand‐name companies, consumer‐goods companies and media allegations on the provision of environmental information.

Turnover, public listing, brand‐names, consumer‐focus and media allegations all affected provision of environmental information by UK food companies, suggesting that greater consumer‐focus leads to the perception that provision of such information into the public/consumer domain is important.

The sample size selected was relatively small, and findings were based on the assumption that the internet is an accurate and appropriate means of conveying environmental information to the consumer. Further research could test such findings with a larger sample and a consumer survey to confirm interest in corporate environmental information provision.

There are important implications for UK food companies considering environmental actions and communications, particularly for brand‐name‐ or consumer‐focused companies. Reporting is seen as a necessary defence but may also offer opportunities for differentiated competitive advantage.

This paper is very valuable in challenging the traditional view that corporate environmental reporting is largely of interest to shareholders and other institutional stakeholders. It demonstrates the need for brand‐name‐ and consumer‐focused food companies to communicate their environmental performance, whether for competitive advantage or as a defensive strategy.

Purpose – This study explores the role of local employees, external partners, and public authorities in supporting and providing information to foreign firms in the context of foreign investment in Southeast Europe (SEE), and the effects on foreign market success.

Methodology – This quantitative study assessed the perception of managers of Austrian companies with business activities in SEE by applying ordinary regression analysis. The hypotheses are tested using survey data of 80 Austrian firms operating in SEE countries.

Findings – Results indicate that information provision by external partners has a positive and significant influence on firm performance, while no significant relationship between information provision by public authorities and firm performance could be found. The results also show that proactivity of local employees facilitates information provision by external partners.

Research limitations – The conclusions drawn are only preliminary as the study did not control for differences in information internalization, was focused on a narrow set of variables determining market performance, and did not control for cultural contingencies of the results.

Practical implications – Western companies operating in the region have to recognize the importance of drawing on external information holders as well as the role of proactive employees in this process for market success.

Information provision services to the general public have, since their inception in South Africa, been biased towards the white minority in the community. In reaction to the imbalanced position and in an effort to re‐dress inadequacies experienced through the existing public library system, alternative community‐driven information provision services were introduced. In this study, the three existing information provision services currently operating in South Africa, i.e. the public library services, community libraries and resource centres, will be discussed and compared. The strengths and weaknesses of each system will be examined, and suggestions put forward as to possible adaptations that can be made in order to develop information provision services, servicing all inhabitants of the country on an equal basis.

The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory study whose aim was to investigate the role of public libraries in the provision of European Union (EU) information in an EU acceding country (Croatia).

Study was conducted via online questionnaire in public libraries across country.

The findings revealed that majority of respondents (83.7 percent) think it is an important task of public libraries to provide citizens with materials about the EU, and that almost all responding libraries (98 percent) have EU materials. In general, respondents think that provision of EU materials in their library does not compromise its role of politically neutral institution. The results also indicate that libraries quite rarely (10 percent) maintain links to relevant EU online sources on their websites. EU collections in responding libraries are promoted actively most frequently in the library itself and on its website, and very rarely in the local media.

Findings are expected to be of interest to European administration in charge of the development of effective communication policies, national authorities in EU candidate and acceding countries, and information professionals in general.

This is the first study to investigate the role of public libraries in EU information provision in an EU acceding country.

Aims to examine the impact of health and safety legislation emanating from the European Community and to analyse what effect, if any, it will have on British occupational health and safety law. An examination of the social action programmes shows that the pace of change has increased rapidly since the Single European Act was incorporated into the Treaty of Rome and became operative from July 1987. Because of rapid changes that are occurring on a broad front there was a need to be selective. Emphasizes to some extent, therefore, the construction industry because it would appear that European legislation is likely to have a major impact on British law and practice in this industry.

Describes briefly the results of research carried out to look at the provision of health information for consumers on the Channel Island of Guernsey. The research utilized a three‐pronged survey to examine the views of the general public, recent hospital in‐patients and health professionals. These groups were asked to provide their views on the information currently available to them, the sources used and their degree of satisfaction with what was currently available. Respondents were also asked what could be done to improve health information provision on the island. Parallel to this, an independent audit of information sources on the island was carried out. Results establish a baseline on which plans for developing an island‐wide policy can be built. They show that there is a dearth of good information available. Consumers ask for more to be provided by health professionals and provide a number of ideas which can be used by policy makers to develop services. Concludes that current opinion would seem to be that policy makers are using the results to take some encouraging action.