Key Highlights
- The National Industrial Court has awarded N100 million against NEMA for wrongful termination of 36 staff.
- The Court orders NEMA to pay the affected staff their salaries and allowances from the date of appointment.
- NEMA failed to establish justifiable reason for the termination, hence, the payment of N100m as general damages.
The Abuja division of the National Industrial Court has awarded N100 million in damages against National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for the wrongful termination of employment of some staff.
Justice Osat Obaseki-Osaghae on Monday declared that the termination of employment of Mr Idumu Adeoti and 35 others from the service of NEMA was unjustifiable and wrongful.
The Court ordered NEMA to pay Mr Adeoti and 35 others all their salaries and allowances from the date of their appointment on December 24, 2019, until 25th January 2021
Court’s Judgement: After listening to submissions and arguments from parties in the suit, Justice Obaseki-Osaghae held that the law imposes on the employer (NEMA) a duty to establish the reason for the termination of the employment of its staff to the satisfaction of the court.
He said the agency’s counsel has not referred to the law that states that an employee who is on probation is not entitled to salary; neither has he referred to the law upon which the termination of the claimant’s employment is based.
In his ruling, Justice Obaseki-Osaghae held that claimants having reported for duty daily are entitled to their salaries and allowances for the period of 24th December 2019 to 25th January 2021 as bona fide employees of NEMA.
He also held that even though the agency can terminate the appointment of any of the Claimants during their probationary period, the employer still must justify to the Court that the employee has failed to satisfy the purpose of probation.
He said it is contrary to international best practices for an employer to terminate the employment of its employee without any reason, or a justifiable reason that is connected with the performance of the employee’s work.
Consequently, he ordered NEMA to pay the claimants one month’s gross salary in place of notice with the sum of N100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira) as general damages and N500,000.00 cost of action within 30 days.
He held that NEMA failed to comply with the rules and regulations guiding claimants’ recruitment into the public service.
He said the reason given by the agency in the termination letters is unconnected with their performance. The judge said:
- “The Claimants lost their previous employment, their income and livelihood, and have suffered hardship that is continuing. This is wrongdoing by the Defendant. The law will not protect a person against his deliberate fault, and will not protect the Defendant in this instance and enable it to benefit from its own wrong-doing.”
The backstory: The claimants told the court that they participated in a recruitment exercise by NEMA and were given probational appointments by letters dated December 24, 2019.
According to them, they went to work from December 2019 until June 2020 waiting to be deployed after resigning from their former place of work.
They averred that they have been living without salaries since December 24, 2019, when they were offered appointments with the NEMA till date.
NEMA, in its defence, told the court that it cancelled the 2019 recruitment exercise because of its non-compliance with the procedure and the laid down rules and regulations of the Civil Service.
it averred that it reserves the right to review the process and if found wanting, terminate the Claimants’ employment as the employment was still on probation.
NEMA argued that Mr Adeoti and the 35 others are not entitled to their salaries and allowances because they are on probation and their appointments were terminated according to law.
It, therefore, prayed the Court to dismiss the case for lacking merit.
Counsel to the claimants contended that the agency has not proved that due process was not followed in the recruitment of their clients and that the law will not protect any person against his deliberate default or misdeed.
Consequently, they prayed to the court to grant the reliefs sought by the claimants.
fantastic!!