Hon. Justice Polycarp Hamman of the Portharcourt Judicial division of the National Industrial Court has ordered ACM limited to pay Mrs. Julia Imoh the sum of N1, 265, 000.00 (One Million, Two Hundred and Sixty-Five Thousand Naira) as unpaid salaries and leave allowances within 30 days.

The Court declared the purported issuance of query and sudden termination of Mrs. Julia Imoh’s employment without notice as illegal and unlawful.

Justice Polycarp ordered the firm to allow Mrs. Julia access to the office to retrieve her items and money (if any) left in the office and urged the parties to keep the peace while complying with the order of the court.

From facts, the Claimant- Mrs. Julia Imoh had averred that she was employed on the 4th of February, 2019, and the firm stopped paying her salaries and other outstanding entitlements since February, 2020 and was issued a letter dated 12th March, 2020 directing her to embark on 22 working days compulsory leave but prior to the grant of the leave, her boss had forcefully seized her office keys, and as well shut down her official email.

Further that despite demands through her lawyer for the payment of her outstanding salaries, benefits, entitlements, and allowances, the firm hurriedly issued her query dated 18th June 2020 and thereafter dismissed from employment without giving her notice on 25/6/2020 contrary to the terms of the contract of employment, urged the court to grant the reliefs sought.

In defense, the firm maintained that Mrs. Julia made complaints against her boss at the station while on probation and may return with police to remove any of her property from the office, argued that the claimant did not respond to the query and did not provide any service to the firm between March 13 and June 25, 2020, to be entitled to any salary.

The counsel to the firm submitted that the acts of the Mrs. Julia amount to gross insubordination and misconduct, and deserves to be summarily dismissed from the employment, urged the court to dismiss the case in its entirety and grant the counter-claimed for damages. 

Delivering the judgment, the presiding judge, Justice Polycarp Hamman held that there is no provision for dismissal in the contract of service between both parties and the law is trite that parties are bound by the terms of their agreement.

The Court held that Mrs. Julia’s employment was not terminated in line with the provisions of the employment offer, and no provision for dismissal in the agreement; ordered the firm to pay the claimant the sum of N230,000.00 as salary in lieu of notice as provided in the offer of employment and dismissed the counter-claimed for lacking merit.

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