Wakilii

Nabulya v Children at Risk Action Network (CRANE) and Another (Miscellaneous Application 28 of 2022)

Industrial Court · [2023] UGIC 32 · 2023 Application Partly Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for review of Industrial Court award in Labour Dispute Reference No. 182 of 2017
Decision
Application for review partly allowed; notice pay and severance pay awards revised upwards; other claims dismissed as more appropriate for appeal

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 1 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 1 time with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The Industrial Court granted the application for review in part. The Court held that the award of two weeks' notice was an error apparent on the face of the record where the employment contract provided for three months' notice, and substituted an award of three months' notice at UGX 5,640,000. The Court also held that the severance pay computation was a mathematical error and substituted UGX 1,253,333 for the original award of UGX 609,750. The Court declined to review the award regarding statutory compensation under Section 66(4), untaken leave, and withheld savings, holding these matters were more appropriate for appeal than review.

Outcome

Application for review partly allowed; notice pay and severance pay awards revised upwards; other claims dismissed as more appropriate for appeal

Facts

The Applicant, Nabulya Winnie, was employed by the Respondent, Children at Risk Action Network (CRANE), under a contract effective from 1 April 2016 to 28 February 2018. She was terminated on 17 November 2016 after working approximately eight months. In Labour Dispute Reference No. 182 of 2017, the Industrial Court found that the Applicant had been unlawfully and unfairly terminated and awarded her UGX 4,000,000 in general damages, two weeks' notice pay of UGX 609,750, severance pay of UGX 609,750, a certificate of service, and interest at 15% per annum. The Court declined to award salary arrears, one month's pay for failure to give a disciplinary hearing, and costs. The Applicant's employment contract provided for three months' written notice after completion of probation. Her gross monthly salary was UGX 1,880,000. Aggrieved by the quantum of certain awards, the Applicant filed this application for review within 21 days of the award, seeking correction of what she alleged were errors apparent on the face of the record.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant has sufficient reason to review the award of the Industrial Court in Labour Dispute Reference No. 182 of 2017.
  2. Whether the application for review is moot and overtaken by events because the award had been executed.
  3. Whether the Applicant is approbating and reprobating by seeking review after accepting the award.
  4. Whether the Industrial Court erred in awarding two weeks' notice instead of three months' notice as provided in the employment contract.
  5. Whether the Industrial Court erred in not awarding statutory four weeks' wages under Section 66(4) of the Employment Act.
  6. Whether the Industrial Court erred in computing severance pay at UGX 609,750 instead of UGX 1,253,333.
  7. Whether the Industrial Court erred in failing to award compensation for 33 days of untaken annual leave.
  8. Whether the Industrial Court erred in failing to award recovery of withheld savings from Hand to Hand VSLA Group.

Orders

  • The award of UGX 609,750 for two weeks' notice is reviewed and substituted with an award of 3 months' notice in the sum of UGX 5,640,000.
  • The award of UGX 609,750 for severance pay is reviewed and substituted with an award of UGX 1,253,333.
  • The application for review in respect of statutory four weeks' pay under Section 66(4) of the Employment Act is dismissed.
  • The application for review in respect of compensation for 33 days of untaken annual leave is dismissed.
  • The application for review in respect of withheld savings held by Hand to Hand VSLA Group is dismissed.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Employment & Labour — Review of Industrial Court Awards — Grounds for Review under Section 17 LADASA
Under Section 17 of the Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act 2006, a party may apply to the Industrial Court to review its decision within twenty-one days from the effective date of the award where any question arises as to the interpretation of the award or where new and relevant facts concerning the dispute materialize.
Civil Procedure — Review — Execution of Award Does Not Bar Review
The fact that an applicant has executed an award does not render an application for review moot or overtaken by events. The remedy of review concerns itself with re-examining the judgment in respect of a glaring omission, patent mistake, or grave error on the record which no court would permit to remain, and such errors cannot be understood to be overtaken by events.
Civil Procedure — Review — Approbation and Reprobation
An application for review of an award made in the applicant's favour does not amount to approbation and reprobation where the applicant does not pursue a claim inconsistent with the initial claim or challenge the validity of the award, but rather seeks correction of errors apparent on the face of the record.
Employment & Labour — Notice Pay — Contractual Notice Prevails Over Statutory Minimum
Where an employee has been unlawfully dismissed and the employment contract provides for a specific notice period, the remedy for notice should be the contractual notice rather than the statutory minimum under Section 58(3) of the Employment Act. An award of statutory minimum notice where the contract provides for a longer period constitutes an error apparent on the face of the record amenable to review.
Employment & Labour — Compensation for Unfair Termination — General Damages and Statutory Compensation
Where a court exercises its discretion to award general damages for unlawful and unfair termination in lieu of statutory compensation under Section 78 of the Employment Act, the decision not to award both general damages and statutory compensation does not constitute an error apparent on the face of the record amenable to review, as there can be more than one view on the matter. The proper remedy for challenging such exercise of discretion is appeal, not review.
Employment & Labour — Severance Pay — Computation Based on Gross Salary
Severance pay under Section 87 of the Employment Act must be computed based on the employee's gross monthly salary as stated in the employment contract. A computational or mathematical error in calculating severance pay based on net salary instead of gross salary constitutes an error apparent on the face of the record amenable to review.
Civil Procedure — Review — Failure to Make Award Distinguished from Error in Award
The failure of a court to make an award on a particular claim, where there is no reference to evaluation of evidence or finding on that claim in the judgment, is a matter more appropriate for appeal than for review. Review is concerned with correcting errors in awards actually made, not with compelling awards that were not made.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (12)

  • Edison Kanyabwera v Pastori Tumwebaze (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 6 of 2004)
  • MK Creditors Limited v Owora Patrick (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 143 of 2015)
  • Mubende Parents School v Uganda Development Bank Ltd and 2 Others (High Court Civil Suit No. 662 of 2015)
  • Tyakuma v Matovu (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 624 of 2018)
  • Muyodi vs. Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation and Anor (2006) 1 EA 243 at 246
  • Hoima District NGO Forum & 6 Ors v Murungi & 5 Ors (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 13 of 2013)
  • Donna Kamuli v DFCU Bank (Labour Dispute Case No. 002 of 2015)
  • Washington Inima v Oilcom Uganda Ltd (Labour Dispute Miscellaneous Application No. 186 of 2021)
  • Farm Inputs Care Center Ltd v Klein Karoo Seeds Marketing (Pty) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 0861 of 2021)
  • Ojijo Pascal v Geoffrey Brown (Miscellaneous Application No. 758 of 2017)
  • Nyamogo & Nyamogo Advocates v. Kago [2001] 2 EA 173
  • L. Luitingh v Saracen Uganda Ltd (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 572 of 2020)

Cases citing this judgment (1)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

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Nabulya_v_Children_at_Risk_Action_Network_(CRANE)_and_Another_(Miscellaneous_Application_28_of_2022)_[2023]_UGIC_32_(9_March_2023)
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