Industrial Court Faults Electricity Distribution for Wrongful Termination, Awards Employee Three Years’ Basic Salary as Damages
The Presiding Judge of the Uyo Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court, Hon. Justice Salisu Hamisu Danjidda, has declared the termination of Mr Ifiok’s employment by the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) wrongful.
The court also ordered PHED to pay Mr Ifiok N1.1 million in general damages, representing his basic salary for three years, within 30 days.
The judgment followed a suit filed by Mr Ifiok, who told the court that he was employed by PHED in 2013 and had his employment confirmed in 2015. He said he served the company for about nine years and consistently recorded performance appraisal scores of not less than 80 per cent.
Mr Ifiok argued that his employment was unlawfully terminated on the grounds of consistent underperformance and failure to meet targets, despite his claim that he had never violated the terms of his employment.
He further contended that PHED terminated his employment without affording him a fair hearing as required under the company’s conditions of service.
In its defence, PHED maintained that Mr Ifiok’s employment was terminated because of his persistent underperformance and inability to meet set targets.
The company told the court that Mr Ifiok’s performance had been evaluated and that queries had been issued to him over his alleged underperformance. PHED also argued that, having paid him his full entitlements upon termination, the court could not order his reinstatement and that the monetary claims made by the claimant had not been established.
However, counsel to Mr Ifiok, Ekusua Ekong, argued that PHED failed to establish the alleged underperformance or demonstrate that his client was given a fair hearing in accordance with the company’s conditions of service before his employment was terminated.
In his judgment, Justice Danjidda held that the relationship between Mr Ifiok and PHED was governed by their contract of employment and the company’s conditions of service.
The judge noted that both parties were bound by the terms of their agreement and that the court could not rewrite the contract between them.
Justice Danjidda held that PHED failed to establish that it complied with the procedure prescribed by its conditions of service before terminating Mr Ifiok’s employment.
According to the court, the prescribed procedure included investigating the alleged underperformance, issuing warnings, implementing performance improvement programmes and providing the employee with an opportunity for a fair hearing before termination.
The court further held that there was no evidence that PHED investigated Mr Ifiok’s alleged underperformance to determine whether it resulted from incapacity or attitude.
The judge also found no evidence of the warnings, performance improvement programmes or disciplinary proceedings contemplated under the company’s conditions of service.
Justice Danjidda consequently held that terminating Mr Ifiok’s employment on the grounds of underperformance without giving him an opportunity to be heard was unjustified and therefore wrongful.
The court ordered PHED to pay Mr Ifiok N1.1 million in general damages within 30 days.
