Portharcourt --- His Lordship, Hon. Justice Zaynab Bashir of the National Industrial Court sitting in Portharcourt has ordered Mife Construction Nigeria Ltd to pay her former staff Mr Chiadikaobi Obiakara unpaid 7 months’ salary balance, N450,000.00 one month salary in lieu of notice for being placed on ‘Stood Off’ and leave allowance within 30 days.
The court held that the phrase ‘stood off’ is one that is unknown to labour practice and the letter of employment issued to the Claimant does not refer to such term.
Arising from the complaint and statement of fact, the Claimant was employed as Project Coordinator in 2016 on a Gross Monthly Salary at the sum of N450,000.00 and worked until the 31st Day of October 2017, when he was disengaged from service by the Defendant, by a letter titled Stood Off and he was owed 7 months salaries.
Claimant further averred that by his appointment Letter, he was entitled to 30 days of leave and a leave allowance which is same as his monthly salary and 8% of his annual salary and Defendant’s 10% contribution of N540,000.00, were not applied to any pension scheme at all, and that the said monies totalling N972,000.00 are with the Defendant.
The Defendant averred that the youth restiveness by the host communities where the project was sited made it impossible for the contract to continue and it is in the light of this that the Claimant is not entitled to his claim being salary already due before he absconded of which half of it has already be paid.
The Defendant also posited that Letter of Appointment did not make provisions entitling the Claimant for anything like interest for delayed salary payment and that Claimant is not entitled to one month salary in lieu of notice of termination, and 8% of Claimant Annual Salary contributed.
Upon cross-examination, the claimant posited that 50% of the salary claimed has been paid.
The Defendant on the other hand also contended that the Claimant was to choose a Pension Fund Administrator to whom deductions were to be made but that the Claimant never did, hence he never made any contribution.
Delivering the Judgment, Justice Zaynab Bashir expressed thus; “In the instant case, what is reasonable notice for putting an employee on ‘stood off’ is one month notice considering the fact that it may take a long while before the Claimant is recalled. Consequently, the Claimant is entitled to have been given a month notice that he would be placed on stood off and failure to do same warrant payment in lieu of the said notice in the sum of his monthly salary of N450,000.00â€
On the claim for deductions of 8% and employer’s 10% contribution for pension, the court held that claimant cannot be paid by hand, but to own a Retirement Savings Account wherein the said deductions and contributions are to be remitted and upon the failure of the Employer to remit same, a penalty can be prescribed by the National Pension Commission.
"In view of the foregoing, the Claims made by the Claimant in respect of the sum of N972,000.00 as a combination of 8% and 10% of deductions and employer’s contribution cannot be granted and same was refused."
In all, the court ordered the defendant to pay to the Claimant the balance of his 7 months salaries, one month salary in lieu of notice for being placed on ‘Stood Off’ and leave allowance less the appropriate tax deductions within 30 days
