It depends on the notice clause: where it prescribes an exclusive method, such as post or hand delivery, that method must be followed exactly, but where it requires writing or actual delivery in general terms the courts read those words to fit modern practice, so a fax or email is generally in writing and delivered once received

It depends on the wording of the notice clause. Where the clause requires writing or actual delivery in general terms, an email or fax will usually satisfy it; where it prescribes an exclusive method, such as post or hand delivery, that method must be used, and getting it wrong on a serious step is dangerous. In Central Provident Fund v Ho Bok Kee delivering a termination notice by hand, when registered or recorded delivery was required, was a wrongful forfeiture treated as a repudiation. Construction Partnership v Leek Developments held that a fax is in writing and that actual delivery is met by sending the notice through a proper channel so that it arrives, so a fax received during working hours was validly delivered even before it was read, though that turned on a requirement of actual delivery rather than an exclusive method. Bernuth Lines v High Seas Shipping held that email is valid service to commence arbitration under section 76 of the Arbitration Act 1996, but that rested on wide statutory wording and does not automatically govern a contractual notice. Watch for any deeming provision, designated address or exclusion of electronic service, which govern over the general position.