Industrial Court Slams British American Tobacco with N10m Damages for Wrongful Job Revocation
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Lagos Judicial Division, has ordered British American Tobacco Marketing Limited to pay N10 million in damages to Mr Eithel over the revocation of an employment offer made to him.
Hon. Justice Anthonia Ubaka, in her judgment, held that the letter of employment issued to Eithel constituted a valid offer which, upon acceptance, created a binding contract of employment between the parties.
Justice Ubaka held that while an employer was entitled to conduct background checks on a prospective employee, such checks must be carried out in accordance with the stipulated process, and any adverse finding relied upon must be properly established.
The court consequently declared the termination of Eithel’s employment on the basis of the alleged background check wrongful.
According to the facts before the court, Eithel stated that after completing the recruitment process and supplying the information requested by the company, he was informed by telephone that he would be engaged.
Relying on the representation, he resigned from his former employment in preparation for taking up the new position.
Eithel further claimed that the alleged negative outcome of the background check was never disclosed to him or his representatives despite several requests. He also alleged that he was not given an opportunity to verify, explain or challenge the outcome of the check.
The claimant maintained that he relied on the company’s representations by disengaging from his former employment, incurring expenses in preparation for his relocation to Nigeria and making other arrangements to assume his new position.
In its defence, British American Tobacco Marketing argued that Eithel’s resignation preceded its conditional offer of employment and was made voluntarily. The company maintained that its employment process was formal and subject to the satisfactory completion of pre-employment medical and background checks.
The company stated that the background check conducted on Eithel returned negative and unsatisfactory results, giving it reasonable cause for concern.
British American Tobacco Marketing further maintained that it notified Eithel of the unsatisfactory outcome and its decision not to proceed with the employment. It also argued that the conditional offer expressly reserved its right to revoke the offer without notice where the background check produced a negative outcome.
However, in a well-considered judgment, Justice Ubaka held that British American Tobacco Marketing could not rely on a technicality after issuing Eithel two letters of employment, continuing with him, applying for his STR visa and approving the purchase of his ticket.
The court therefore held that Eithel accepted the offer and that a valid contract existed between the parties.
The court further held that evidence before it showed that the parties had agreed on Eithel’s salary, other benefits and relocation benefits, which pointed to the validity of the employment arrangement.
Justice Ubaka also relied on British American Tobacco Marketing’s conduct in commencing the STR visa process as evidence supporting the existence of the employment relationship between the parties.
The judge held that Eithel’s resignation from his former employment became effective upon receipt of his resignation letter, stating that no person is entitled to keep two jobs at the same time.
The court consequently held that Eithel was entitled to recompense in the form of damages for the loss he suffered as a result of relying on the company’s employment offer.
Accordingly, Justice Ubaka ordered British American Tobacco Marketing Limited to pay Eithel N10 million in damages and N500,000 in costs, with the sums to be paid within 30 days.
