Wakilii

Turinayo v Board of Governors Seseme Girls Secondary School (Labour Dispute Reference 7 of 2021)

Industrial Court · [2025] UGIC 8 · 2025 Claim Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Labour dispute reference from mediation failure before Labour Officer at Kisoro
Decision
Claim dismissed — claimant found not to be employee of respondent school

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Industrial Court held that a clerical officer posted to a government secondary school was not an employee of the school's Board of Governors but of the local government, as his salary was paid by the Ministry of Education. The court found that the school did not terminate his employment; rather, he was deleted from the payroll by his actual employer, the local government. The forced leave imposed by the school did not constitute unfair dismissal. The claim was dismissed with no order as to costs.

Outcome

Claim dismissed — claimant found not to be employee of respondent school

Facts

On 30 May 1994, the claimant began work as a clerical officer at Seseme Girls Secondary School, Kisoro, a government-aided school. He was later assigned duties as assistant bursar. On 12 April 2012, the school's Board of Governors placed him on one month's forced leave to conduct investigations into financial irregularities in his department. The school requested audit documents from him on 15 May 2012 and again on 12 June 2012. The claimant did not respond. He lodged a complaint of unfair dismissal with the Labour Officer at Kisoro. The respondent replied that the claimant had been deleted from the payroll by the Ministry of Education, not by the school. Mediation failed, and the matter was referred to the Industrial Court on 18 February 2021. The claimant sought a declaration that the forced leave was unlawful, unpaid salary of UGX 46,103,429, general and aggravated damages, interest, and costs. The respondent contended that it had never employed or paid the claimant, who was a public servant employed by the Ministry of Education and posted to the school.

Issues

  1. Whether the Claimant was an employee of the Respondent?
  2. Whether the Claimant was unlawfully terminated?
  3. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

  • Claim dismissed.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Employment & Labour — Public Service — Employer Identity — Government-Aided Schools
A clerical officer posted to a government-aided secondary school and paid by the Ministry of Education through the local government payroll is an employee of the government, not of the school's Board of Governors, notwithstanding that the Board supervises his work and may place him on forced leave for investigative purposes.
Employment & Labour — Termination — Burden of Proof — Fact of Termination
In employment disputes, the employee bears the burden of proving that termination has occurred, while the employer bears the burden of justifying the lawfulness of the termination once termination is established.
Employment & Labour — Suspension — Forced Leave — Deletion from Payroll
Where a public servant is placed on forced leave by a school Board of Governors but is subsequently deleted from the government payroll by his appointing authority, the forced leave does not subsist indefinitely; the deletion from the payroll by the appointing authority constitutes the operative act affecting the employment relationship, not the school's forced leave.
Administrative Law — Public Service — Powers of School Boards of Governors
Under the Education (Pre-Primary, Primary and Post-Primary) Act and the Education (Board of Governors) Regulations, a school Board of Governors governs the school and monitors staff behaviour and performance, but does not have the power to appoint, pay, or terminate public servants posted to the school; those powers vest in the District Service Commission and the Ministry of Education.
Employment & Labour — Costs — Employment Disputes — Exception to General Rule
In employment and labour disputes, costs are awarded as an exception because the employment relationship is not balanced; subjecting an employee who has suffered job loss to costs doubles the difficulties associated with loss of income and livelihood. Costs will be awarded only where the losing party is guilty of misconduct.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (2)

Full judgment

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Turinayo_v_Board_of_Governors_Seseme_Girls_Secondary_School_(Labour_Dispute_Reference_7_of_2021)_[2025]_UGIC_8_(24_January_2025)
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.