Wakilii

Birungi v The Management Committee of Kamapla Quality Primary School (Labour Dispute Reference No. 15 of 2019)

Industrial Court · [2021] UGIC 17 · 2021 Claim Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Labour dispute reference arising from KCCA/CEN/LC/217/2018 concerning alleged unfair termination of employment
Decision
Claimant's employment lawfully terminated; claim for remedies dismissed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that a private school's disciplinary committee has jurisdiction to discipline teachers for breach of professional conduct without referring the matter to the Education Service Commission. The mandatory right to a fair hearing under Employment Act s.66 applies to all dismissals including summary dismissals. Where a teacher admitted she could not produce an examination script she claimed to have marked and the circumstances suggested examination malpractice, the employer was entitled to find professional misconduct and lawfully dismiss her. Claim dismissed.

Outcome

Claimant's employment lawfully terminated; claim for remedies dismissed

Facts

The claimant was employed as a teacher at Kampala Quality Primary School on a fixed-term contract. During end of third term 2017 examinations, she marked two scripts for one pupil in the same subject at the same sitting, one scoring 40% and another 80%. She recorded the 80% mark and forwarded it for recording. When asked to produce the 80%-mark script, she could not find it and instead produced the 40%-mark script. She claimed the 80%-mark script was lost. The school suspected examination malpractice and summoned her to a disciplinary meeting in January 2018. She asked for time to prepare a defence which was denied. The disciplinary committee found her culpable of professional misconduct and summarily dismissed her. She had been asked to write an explanation in December 2017, which she did, admitting she could not find the 80%-mark script.

Issues

  1. Whether the termination of the claimant's employment was lawful and/or justified.
  2. What are the appropriate remedies to the parties?

Orders

  • Claim dismissed.
  • No order as to costs.
  • Claimant to be paid January salary if not already paid.

Rules and key headnotes

Employment & Labour — Disciplinary Proceedings — Jurisdiction of Private Employer's Disciplinary Committee — Teachers Professional Code of Conduct
A disciplinary committee constituted by a private school employer has jurisdiction to discipline teachers for breach of the Teachers Professional Code of Conduct without referring the matter to the Education Service Commission. The 'appropriate authorities' referred to in Legal Notice No. 11/2012 paragraph 14(1) include authorities employing teachers and are not exclusively reserved for the Education Service Commission.
Employment & Labour — Fair Hearing — Summary Dismissal — Mandatory Right Under Employment Act s.66
The mandatory right to a fair hearing under Employment Act s.66 applies to all forms of dismissal including summary dismissal. An assertion that summary dismissal does not warrant a fair hearing is without legal merit. An employer who fails to comply with s.66 is liable to pay the employee a sum equivalent to four weeks' net pay irrespective of whether the dismissal is justified.
Employment & Labour — Fair Hearing — Standards for Disciplinary Committee — Distinction from Court Proceedings
A disciplinary committee hearing is not to be equated to a court of law hearing. Although the disciplinary committee is expected to follow all tenets of a fair hearing, the extent of compliance cannot be the same extent of compliance required of courts of law.
Employment & Labour — Professional Misconduct — Teachers — Examination Malpractice — Burden of Proof
Where a teacher admits she marked two scripts for one pupil in the same examination at the same sitting, recorded the higher mark, and subsequently could not produce the script bearing that mark, the employer is entitled to find that the teacher intended to cheat for the pupil. It is more probable than not that a primary one pupil could not produce two answer sheets at the same sitting scoring 40% in one and 80% in another unless assisted to upgrade to the higher mark.
Employment & Labour — Professional Standards — Teachers — Binding Effect of Code of Conduct
A professional teacher is bound by the Teachers Professional Code of Conduct regardless of whether the teacher signed the employer's internal rules or conduct document. Professionals are governed by certain standards and codes of conduct for as long as they are in the practice of the profession wherever they may be.

Legislation cited (10)

Cases cited (4)

  • Makula International v Cardinal Nsubuga (HCB 11 of 1982)
  • Ebiju James v Umeme (HCCS 133 of 2012)
  • DFCU v Donna Kamuli (Civil Appeal No. 167 of 2018)
  • Francis Oyet Ojera v Uganda Telecom Limited (HCCS 161 of 2010)

Full judgment

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

Birungi_v_The_Management_Committee_of_Kamapla_Quality_Primary_School_(Labour_Dispute_Reference_No._15_of_2019)_[2021]_UGIC_17_(3_March_2021)
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.