Wakilii

Ayoma Fortunate Shanga and 3 Others v Marie Stopes Uganda (Labour Dispute Reference No.060 of 2021)

Industrial Court · [2026] UGIC 27 · 2026 Claim Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Labour dispute claim arising from alleged unfair dismissal referred from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development
Decision
Claims dismissed; dismissal upheld as lawful

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Industrial Court held that the summary dismissal of four employees by Marie Stopes Uganda was both procedurally and substantively lawful. The employees were dismissed for habitually leaving work before the designated closing time without authorization and deliberately falsifying records to conceal the violations. The court found that the employer complied with procedural fairness requirements under section 65 of the Employment Act by notifying employees of allegations, giving them opportunity to respond, and conducting disciplinary hearings. Substantively, the breach of working hours and falsification of records constituted a fundamental breach of essential employment contract terms justifying dismissal under section 68. All claims for compensation and remedies were dismissed.

Outcome

Claims dismissed; dismissal upheld as lawful

Facts

Four employees (a medical doctor/team leader, two nurses, and a driver) of Marie Stopes Uganda's Mbale Outreach Centre were summarily dismissed on 14 November 2019. On 12 September 2019, a whistleblower reported that the team's vehicle had been sighted in Mbale town at 3:00 pm while the team was expected to be providing outreach services in Namusita, Budaka. Internal investigation revealed that between 1 August and 13 September 2019, the team left outreach sites earlier than the prescribed closing time of 5:00 pm on ten occasions without authorization. The team leader was on unapproved leave on 12 September 2019. The acting team leader admitted the team left early on that date due to a colleague going into labour and admitted leaving early on all other occasions for various reasons but without supervisor authorization. Vehicle tracking data showed departure times inconsistent with entries made by the claimants on facility summary sheets. Following disciplinary hearings held on 1 November 2019, all four employees were summarily dismissed for breach of official working hours, falsification of records, and, in one case, vehicle misuse. The employees challenged the dismissal as unfair and unlawful.

Issues

  1. Whether the dismissal of the Claimants was unlawful?
  2. What are the remedies available to the parties?

Orders

  • The Claimants' claim dismissed.
  • The dismissal of the Claimants declared lawful.
  • All prayers for remedies declined.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Employment & Labour — Dismissal — Procedural Fairness — Elements of Natural Justice
The essential elements of procedural fairness in employment dismissal proceedings are: (i) notice of allegations to the employee; (ii) sufficient time given to prepare a response; (iii) clear setting out of the allegations in the notice; (iv) explanation to the employee of rights at the hearing including the right to respond, the right to be accompanied, and the right to cross-examine witnesses or call witnesses; and (v) opportunity for the employee to respond to allegations.
Employment & Labour — Dismissal — Procedural Fairness — Investigation Report
Failure to avail an employee with an investigation report before a disciplinary hearing is not fatal to the employer's case if the facts revealed in the report implicating the employee were already put to the employee in the notification to the hearing and the employee participated in the investigation and was given opportunity to respond.
Employment & Labour — Dismissal — Procedural Fairness — Disciplinary Hearings Distinguished from Courts
Disciplinary hearings are not courts of law and do not require the calling or cross-examination of witnesses. Section 66 of the Employment Act does not require an employer to conduct a mini-trial, provided the employee is advised of the right to attend with representatives and is not prevented from calling witnesses.
Employment & Labour — Dismissal — Substantive Fairness — Breach of Essential Terms
Working hours are a critical and essential term of an employment contract voluntarily agreed to by the employee. Habitually leaving work before designated closing hours without authorization and deliberately falsifying records to cover up the violations constitutes a fundamental breach of the employee's contractual obligations justifying summary dismissal under section 68 of the Employment Act.
Employment & Labour — Dismissal — Test for Lawfulness — Dual Requirements
The test for whether a dismissal or termination of employment is lawful is whether it was both procedurally and substantively fair. An employer's right to terminate an employee cannot be fettered by courts so long as the employer follows the correct procedure.
Employment & Labour — Costs — Exceptional Circumstances Required
Costs in labour disputes are granted only in exceptional circumstances because of the unequal contract between employer and employee. To ensure equality in justice, this principle applies to both employer and employee, and awarding costs against an employee who has lost employment would amount to condemning them to destitution.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (14)

  • Augustine Kamagero v Marie Stopes Uganda Ltd (Labour Dispute Reference No. 36 of 2018)
  • Hilda Musinguzi v Stanbic Bank (U) Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 05 of 2016)
  • Nicholas Mugisha v Equity Bank Uganda Ltd (Labour Dispute Reference No. 281 of 2021)
  • Ebiju v Umeme Ltd
  • Benon H. Kanyangoma & Others v Bank of Uganda
  • DFCU Bank v Dona Kamuli
  • Uganda Breweries Ltd v Robert Kigula
  • Dona Kimuli v DFCU Bank Ltd
  • Stanbic Bank v Kyimba Mutate
  • Ofwono v Marie Stopes Uganda and Another (Labour Dispute Case No. 1 of 2023)
  • Stanbic Bank v Hilda Musinguzi (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 05 of 2016)
  • Ekemu Patrick v Stanbic Bank [2012] UGIC 2
  • Uganda Breweries v Kigula Henry and 4 Others (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 183 of 2016)
  • Lubwama Henry v UMEME Ltd (High Court Civil Suit No. 0101 of 2011)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Ayoma Fortunate Shanga and 3 Others v Marie Stopes Uganda (Labour Dispute Reference No.060 of 2021) [2026] UGIC 27 (27 January 2026)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.