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Hon. Justice Elizabeth Oji of the Lagos Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court has ordered Bayer Nigeria to pay Mrs Oduse N798k as one month's salary in lieu of notice, N2m as compensation for wrongful termination of employment under the Industrial Court Act, and N500k as costs of the action.
The Court held that Bayer Nigeria’s reorganisation was genuine and verifiable, but declared the termination of Oduse as wrongful for failure to comply with the contractual requirement for one month’s notice or payment of salary in lieu of notice.
From facts, the Claimant, Mrs Oduse, had submitted that she underwent surgery and was granted leave to recover. Upon resuming work, she was informed four days later that her role was no longer required. Shortly afterwards, the company advertised the position.
Mrs Oduse averred that she applied for the advertised position and was interviewed but was informed that she lacked the requisite skills and experience for the role. The position was subsequently filled by a staff member.
Mrs Oduse challenged the termination, contending that the reorganization was a contrived attempt to remove her and that the duties of the new position were substantially identical to those she had performed.
In defence, Bayer Nigeria maintained that the company restructuring rendered Mrs Oduse’s position redundant and denied that the termination of Oduse was connected to her surgery.
Bayer Nigeria further contended that the reorganization was justifiable and verifiable, relying on the organizational report, the internal advertisement of the vacancy, the external recruitment process and the interview of eight candidates.
The Company maintained that it complied with the contractual requirement for notice by providing for payment in lieu of notice in the final settlement, and that Mrs Oduse had acknowledged receiving N3.8m after deductions.
In opposition, Mrs Oduse’s counsel, Chief Paul Omoijiade Esq argued that the purported reorganization was a ruse intended to remove his client, who had considerable experience and had allegedly performed responsibilities associated with the Head of Sales position in addition to her existing duties.
Counsel posited that the interview process was flawed and that Bayer Nigeria failed to establish a credible basis for finding his client unsuitable for the new position.
Counsel submitted that the termination was wrongful because Bayer Nigeria failed to comply with Clause 14 of the contract of employment, which required either party to give one month’s written notice or pay one month’s salary in lieu of notice. Counsel therefore urged the Court to grant the reliefs sought.
In a well-considered judgment, Justice Elizabeth Oji held that Mrs Oduse had proved that the termination of her contract of service by Bayer Nigeria was wrongful for failure to comply with the requirement for one month’s notice or salary in lieu of notice.
Justice Oji found that the reorganization carried out by the firm was genuine and verifiable and that the allegation that the two roles were identical does not survive comparison of the job descriptions.
The Court found that the allegation that Mrs Oduse’s termination was connected to her surgery was not established by the evidence, and that the correspondence before the court showed that Bayer Nigeria had approved the request for financial assistance for her surgery.
Justice Oji held that the Claimant was entitled to the net salary of N675,078.97 paid on 31 May 2021 for work done, as the termination letter was received on 25 May 2021. The Judge ruled that the Defendant failed to pay salary in lieu of notice, thereby breaching the employment contract and rendering the termination wrongful.
The Court declined to award compensation for the allegation of unfair labour practices or damage to Mrs Oduse’s brand, reputation and goodwill because those claims were not established by evidence.
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