Notice to Determine

In contracts with statutory flavor where the termination of employment of an employee is found to be wrong, the Court may order specific performance of the contract, injunction or reinstatement.

Contracts with statutory flavor are contracts where the employer is created by statute. Such contracts are governed by the statute which creates the employer. e.g In Olaniyan v. University of Lagos (1985) 2 NWLR (Pt. 9) p. 599, Act No. 3 of 1967 creates the University of Lagos. It is that statute that governs employer employee contract.
A contract is one with statutory flavor where the conditions for appointment and bringing the contract to an end are governed by an enabling statute. It follows naturally that a valid appointment or determination of the contract must satisfy provisions in the statute.

It is settled that a notice to quit in order to be effective ought to determine the tenancy at the end of the current term of the tenancy.

The next question is: could the notice to quit, Exhibit L, determine the tenancy? In order to be able to answer this question, I must ask: what type of statutory tenancy does the defendant hold? For it is provided in section 16 of the Rent Control and Recovery of Residential Premises Law, 1976, as follows:
"(1) Where there is no express stipulation as to the notice to be given by either party to determine the tenancy the following periods of time shall be given-
(a) in the case of a tenancy at will or a weekly tenancy, a week's notice;
(b) in the case of a monthly tenancy, a month's notice;
(c) in the case of a quarterly tenancy, a quarter's notice; and
(d) in the case of a yearly tenancy half a year's notice;
Provided that in the case of a monthly tenancy, where a tenant is in arrears of rent for three months after the commencement of this Edict the tenancy shall determine and the tribunal shall on the application of the landlord make all order for possession and arrears of rent.
(2) The nature of a tenancy shall, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, be determined by reference to the time when the rent is paid or demanded."