Facts
The American national Ed. F. Kossova was employed by the Institute on the Rosenberg AG in St. Gallen as a high school teacher and educator on May 13, 1969. At the end of December 1969, Kossova returned to the United States for the Christmas holidays. On January 5, 1970, he informed his employer in an airmail letter that he would not be able to resume his duties until the following week due to illness. He added that he would remain in the USA if the Institute could easily find a replacement for him.
The letter arrived at the Institute on January 8, 1970. On January 9, Kossova announced that he would depart on January 14 and resume work on January 15. However, the Institute had already found a replacement on January 8 and concluded a contract with her. On January 13, the Institute informed Kossova by telegram that a replacement had been found and his return was no longer necessary.
Kossova then sued the Institute for payment of his salary for the period from January 1 to August 31, 1970.
Considerations
The Federal Court concluded that the Institute had not accepted Kossova's termination of the employment contract in a timely manner. Although Kossova had not set a deadline for the acceptance of his offer, the Institute had to respond within a reasonable period due to the specific circumstances.
The Institute had already concluded the contract with the replacement on January 8 and could therefore not wait until January 13 to…