Wakilii

Grindlays Bank (U) Limited v Lyazi (Civil Appeal 4 of 1983)

Court of Appeal · [1985] UGCA 1 · 1985 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from a High Court judgment ordering payment of a pension
Decision
Appeal dismissed; High Court order to pay the respondent a monthly pension upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal dismissed the bank's appeal against an order to pay the respondent a monthly pension. The respondent had transferred his employment from the Dutch Bank to the appellant bank on the same terms and conditions. The document containing those terms was not produced, so the matter turned on the credibility of witnesses. The trial judge was entitled to accept the respondent's evidence over that of the appellant's witness, who did not know the Dutch Bank's terms and could not credibly explain why a transferred colleague received a pension. The trial judge did not err in law in inferring an agreement to pay a pension.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed; High Court order to pay the respondent a monthly pension upheld

Facts

The respondent was an employee of the Dutch Bank from 1 January 1970. On that day the Dutch Bank sold its entire business to the appellant bank, and by agreement the Dutch Bank's employees were transferred to the appellant bank on the same terms and conditions they enjoyed with the Dutch Bank. The respondent worked from 1 February 1970 until December 1975, when he took early retirement at age 43. The appellant bank paid him terminal benefits totalling about Shs. 25,870, comprising his provident fund share, his contribution to the National & Grindlays African Pension Fund, and a gratuity. When the respondent complained about his pension, the bank replied that, having opted for early retirement, he could not be granted a pension. He sued, claiming entitlement to a pension under the Dutch Bank's terms. The document containing those terms was not produced, the respondent having lost it. He relied on evidence that a colleague transferred on the same terms received a pension.

Issues

  1. Whether the respondent was entitled to a pension under the terms and conditions of service of the Dutch Bank.
  2. Whether the trial judge erred in finding for the respondent where the document containing the terms of service was not produced in evidence.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed with costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Employment & Labour — Transfer of Undertaking — Continuity of Terms and Conditions on Transfer of Employment
Where a business is sold and employees are transferred to the purchaser on the same terms and conditions they enjoyed with the former employer, a pension entitlement existing under the former employer's terms binds the transferee employer.
Evidence — Proof of Contractual Terms — Reliance on Oral Evidence Where Document Not Produced
Where the document containing the disputed terms of service is not produced, the court may rely on the oral evidence before it to determine whether an agreement existed, and the matter becomes one of the credibility of witnesses.
Evidence — Appellate Review — Deference to Trial Court's Assessment of Witness Credibility
An appellate court will not interfere with a trial judge's finding founded on the credibility of witnesses where the judge was entitled to accept one party's testimony over another's, particularly where the opposing witness lacked knowledge of the relevant terms.

Full judgment

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

Grindlays Bank (U) Limited v Lyazi (Civil Appeal 4 of 1983) [1985] UGCA 1 (13 March 1985)
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.