This case is the legal equivalent of the aphorism ‘If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?’ Here though the question is ‘If a letter arrives while you are on holiday, have you received it?’ For Mrs Haywood this was more than just a thought experiment and impacted the rights to her full pension. Her employer served notice by post and it was up to the Supreme Court to decide when exactly the clock started running from.

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