Lagos – Hon. Justice NCS Ogbuanya of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Lagos Division on Friday 14th December 2018 in a judgment delivered ordered GEMINI PHARMACEUTICALS LTD (defendant) to pay ex-employee MR. OKON EDET INYANG (claimant) within 60 days the sum of N500,000.00 as general damages for the undue delay of the payment of his severance benefits about 5 years after exit from the Defendant Company.
The Claimant commenced this Suit on 9th November 2017, against his ex-employer for recovery of the unpaid balance of his terminal entitlement, general damages and cost of the litigation. The Claimant’s endorsed reliefs are for: Payment of the unpaid balance of entitlement N700,000.00, and N1,000,000.00 (one million naira) as general damages. Likewise, N200,000.00 as cost of litigation.
The Claimant’s case is that he was employed as a Forklift Driver in 1992 by the Defendant, that on 10th June 2006 while on his way home from work at about 7.30 pm, he was hit down by a tyre which pulled out from an ongoing truck and he became unconscious and was thereafter hospitalized.
That it was his brother that catered for him and paid the medical bills amounting to N133,785.00, but that only the sum of N105,655.00 was refunded And when he recovered, he returned to work but was not paid any insurance benefits. That he spent 20 years and 9 months meritorious service to the Defendant from 1992 to 17th October 2013, when the Defendant summarily retired him, via the Termination letter dated 17th October 2013.
That by then his gross monthly salary was N41, 935.44. That his terminal benefits were calculated by the Defendant in its letter dated 10th November 2014, to be N1,512,230.95, out of N200,000.00 was paid as first installment, the second installment in the sum of N312,270.95 in May 2015, leaving a balance of N1,000,000.00.
That due to further delay to pay him the balance, he engaged the legal services of G.P Agbeotu Esq., who wrote to the Defendant dated 11th January 2016. That it thereafter, his said solicitor received another Defendant’s cheque of N200,000.00. That since that 6th February 2017, not until 13th October 2017, when he was called to collect another cheque of N100,000 .00 which he collected in the Defendant’s premises on 17th October 2017, leaving a balance of N700.000.00.
It is the contention of the Defendant that the Claimant’s employment was not terminated by the Defendant, but that he resigned vide a letter of Resignation dated 17/10/2013.
Defendant Witness further testified that the Defendant did not refuse or neglect to pay the Claimant the said terminal benefit of N1,512,230.95, but even overlooked the one-month salary in lieu of notice, of which the Claimant ought to pay for his resignation. He explained that it was the financial difficulty the Defendant Company was experiencing that led to the delay.
To defendant Counsel, since the kernel of the suit (being the N700, 000.00 unpaid balance of entitlement), has been settled in the course of the proceedings, there are ‘no substantiated facts proving the relief for damages’.
After careful analysis of all the processes filed, the evidence led and the submissions of the learned Counsel from both sides. The Court presided by Hon. Justice NCS Ogbuanya expressed thus;
“I find that there was outstanding sum of N1,000,000.00 owed to the Claimant as at the time he engaged the services of counsel and that the remaining balance of N700,000.00 outstanding as at the time the suit was commenced was paid off by the Defendant when proceedings in this matter had commenced.
“The Claimant’s evidence of his ailing health condition resulting from injury he sustained while in the employment of the Defendant, and poor living standard with inconveniences of accommodation problem, were not frontally denied or rebutted by the Defendant both at pleadings and trial stages.
“From the foregoing analysis, I find that there was undue delay in payment of the Claimant’s terminal benefits spanning for about 5 years between the time of his exit and time of last payment by the Defendant, resulting in this litigation.
“This unjustified conduct would certainly attract compensation in favour of the Claimant by way of general damages. Accordingly, I award the sum of N500, 000.00 (five hundred thousand naira) as general damages in favour of the Claimant.
The court ordered that monetary payment in this Judgment be paid by the within two (2) months of this Judgment.
