GHANA POST COMPANY LTD. vs. JOSEPH KWAKU AGYAPONG [2016]DLCA4999

Date	2016-06-27
Suit No.	SUIT NO. H1/22/2016
Citation No.	[2016]DLCA4999

AYEBI J.A. (PRESIDING)

TORKORNOO (MRS) J. A.

DOMAKYAAREH (MRS) J. A.

KWASI ADJENIM-BOATENGF FOR APPELLANT

ALFRED TUAH YEBOAH FOR RESPONDENT

[2016]DLCA4999
																																						<div class="restriction-wrapper">
														<div class="container-lg">
															<div class="row">
																<div class="col-md-12 restricted-content">
																	<div class="restricted-content-img-wrapper">
																		<div class="lock-icon bounce-7">
																			<img class=""
																				src="https://www.dennislawgh.com/dl-assets/dl-images/lock-content.png"
																				alt="Subscription based content">
																		</div>
																	</div>
																	 
																		<a href="https://www.dennislawgh.com/login"
																		class="btn btn-primary btn-lg"
																		style="font-family: 'open sans'; text-transform: capitalize; border-radius: 8px"> 
																		Login to Read Full Case </a>
																	 
																	
																</div>
															</div>
														</div>
													</div>
													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >GHANA POST COMPANY LTD.<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANT/APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>JOSEPH KWAKU AGYAPONG<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, KUMASI]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

SUIT NO. H1/22/2016&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;DATE: 27TH JUNE, 2016<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>KWASI ADJENIM-BOATENGF FOR
APPELLANT<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

ALFRED
TUAH YEBOAH FOR RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:
<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

AYEBI
J.A. (PRESIDING), TORKORNOO (MRS) J. A., DOMAKYAAREH (MRS) J. A.<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>TORKORNOO (MRS), J.A.<o:p></o:p>Until
his dismissal that led to this suit, the Plaintiff Respondent worked for the Defendant
Appellant Company in the rank of deputy postal manager and as post master of
its Dormaa Ahenkro station. During an audit of the financial records at his
station in August 2011, a loss of Gh¢12,581.30 was detected.&nbsp; He was transferred to Sunyani in September
2011 without entitlement to a transfer grant, and on 6th January, 2012,
the management of the company wrote to him indefinitely suspending him without
pay for alleged embezzlement of cash at the Post Office. <o:p></o:p>In
March 2012, a Board of Enquiry found him ‘guilty
of the charge’ of negligence contrary to Article 35 (3) (e) of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement between the Appellant and the Communications Workers Union
of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) that the Respondent belonged to. The
particulars of his offence read thus:<o:p></o:p>‘That you J. K. Agyapong….during the period
of 2010/2011 was negligen(ce) (sic) in the performance of your duties to wit not
keeping proper accounting records of cash post funds and as a result you
have failed to account for an amount of GH¢12, 581 being cash post money
you had received thereby denying the company the use of the money at the
appropriate time’<o:p></o:p>The
findings of the Board of Enquiry were that though the Respondent had claimed
that he had found excess cash in his records, there were actually shortages. He
had accepted the fact of this shortage before the Regional Management Team and
had tried to mislead members of the BOE. There was no evidence of his repayment
of the shortage even though a lot of lodgments had been made into the company’s
accounts, and the required query and suspense PV had not been given to him
after the auditor detected the shortage in the accounts. They also found as a
fact that the work load at the time of the shortages was too much for him
taking into account his physical disability. <o:p></o:p>The
BOE recommended that though the Appellant had not been honest even in the
presence of witnesses, he should be punished by a reduction in rank, taking
into account the work schedule at the time that he was alone at the office. On
23rd May 2012, the Managing Director dismissed him with
retrospective effect from 6th January 2012.<o:p></o:p>Aggrieved
with this decision to terminate his employment, he sued the Appellant for the
following claims:<o:p></o:p>a.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
General damages for wrongful dismissal
from the Defendant Company.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>b.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;