Wakilii

Mading Jerome v The Sanctuary & 3 Ors (Labour Dispute 175 of 2017)

Industrial Court · [2018] UGIC 35 · 2018 Claim Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Labour dispute claim arising from alleged unlawful termination of employment
Decision
Claim succeeded with awards for payment in lieu of notice, severance, general damages, and interest

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Industrial Court held that the claimant's termination was unlawful because he was not given notice or a disciplinary hearing as required by the Employment Act. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th respondents were held jointly liable because they remained registered members of the Board of Trustees of Jeremiah House at the time of dismissal and had not formally ceased membership. Community Based Organisations lack legal capacity to sue or be sued, so individual managers must be held liable. The claimant was awarded payment in lieu of notice, severance allowance, general damages, and interest.

Outcome

Claim succeeded with awards for payment in lieu of notice, severance, general damages, and interest

Facts

The claimant was employed by The Sanctuary, a registered NGO, on 23 August 2014. Towards the end of 2015, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th respondents formed a Community Based Organisation called Jeremiah House which assumed the activities of The Sanctuary. The claimant continued working for Jeremiah House. On 11 June 2017, the claimant was dismissed by email signed by the 4th respondent based in Canada. The dismissal letter referred to verbal warnings and misconduct but the claimant was not given a disciplinary hearing. The 2nd and 3rd respondents claimed they had ceased to be Board members by the time of dismissal following a restructuring by International Teams Canada. However, no formal evidence of their resignation or cessation of membership was produced.

Issues

  1. Whether the claimant's termination was lawful.
  2. Whether the 2nd, 3rd and 4th respondents were liable for the unlawful termination.
  3. Whether the claimant is entitled to the remedies sought.

Orders

  • Payment in lieu of notice of UGX 400,000 (one month's pay including rent) awarded to the claimant.
  • Severance allowance of UGX 1,200,000 (one month's pay per year worked) awarded to the claimant.
  • General damages of UGX 3,000,000 awarded to the claimant.
  • Interest at 18% per annum on the total sum awarded from the date of the award until settlement in full.
  • Claim for leave pay dismissed.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Employment & Labour — Termination of Employment — Lawful Termination Requirements — Notice and Disciplinary Hearing
Termination of employment can only legally be made in accordance with the law. Under the Employment Act, in addition to being issued with notice before termination, the employer is expected to give a reason for termination. Once the termination is as a result of misconduct, the employer is expected to provide the employee with a hearing so that the employee is given opportunity to defend himself or herself against the allegations.
Administrative Law — Community Based Organisations — Legal Capacity — Capacity to Sue or Be Sued
A Community Based Organisation registered under the Non-governmental Organisation Act does not have legal capacity to sue or be sued in its own name. Whereas an aggrieved party in a mainstream non-governmental organisation may sue the organisation, in a Community Based Organisation the aggrieved can only sue the individual managers of the organisation.
Employment & Labour — Liability of Board Members — Continuing Liability Absent Formal Resignation
Where members of a Board of Trustees of a Community Based Organisation have not formally ceased to be members in accordance with the organisation's constitution, they remain liable for decisions taken on behalf of the Board even if they were not party to the specific decision, particularly where they had allowed another Board member to act on their behalf.
Employment & Labour — Remedies for Unlawful Termination — Severance Allowance Calculation
Under section 87 of the Employment Act, once termination is declared unlawful, an employee is entitled to severance. In the absence of negotiations between the employer and the worker or labour union as to calculation of severance, the employee is entitled to one month's pay per year worked.
Employment & Labour — Leave Entitlement — Requirement to Apply for Leave
Although an employee is entitled to leave in accordance with section 54 of the Employment Act, grant of such leave is subject to approval by the employer and entitlement only arises once the employee applies for it and the employer for some reason denies the employee the same. The fact that the contract did not provide for leave does not preclude the claimant from applying for the same.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (2)

  • Donna Kamuli v DFCU Bank (Labour Dispute No. 002 of 2015)
  • Chome Simea and Others v Kaya Parish Grazing Area & Another (Civil Appeal No. 0015 of 2010)

Full judgment

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

Mading_Jerome_v_The_Sanctuary_&_3_Ors_(Labour_Dispute_175_of_2017)_[2018]_UGIC_35_(11_May_2018)
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.