RELIANCE PERSONNEL vs. NATIONAL LABOUR COMMISSION [2023]DLCA15152

Date	2023-02-08
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO H1/203/2022
Citation No.	[2023]DLCA15152

CECILIA SOWAH J.A (PRESIDING)

MERLEY A. WOOD (MRS) J.A

ADJEI FRIMPONG J.A

BERNET ANIM WITH JOSHUA A. BOOWURO FOR APPELLANT

NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR RESPONDENT

[2023]DLCA15152
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >RELIANCE PERSONNEL<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT/APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>NATIONAL
LABOUR COMMISSION<o:p></o:p>(APPLICANT/RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL,
ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:130%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">CIVIL APPEAL NO
H1/203/2022&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span lang="en-DE" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:130%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-ansi-language:#2000">&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: 8TH FEBRUARY, 2023<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL<o:p></o:p>BERNET
ANIM WITH JOSHUA A. BOOWURO FOR APPELLANT<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
justify;line-height:normal;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>CECILIA
SOWAH J.A
(PRESIDING)<span lang="en-DE" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:
&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-ansi-language:#2000">, MERLEY A. WOOD (MRS)
J.A<span lang="en-DE" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
mso-ansi-language:#2000">, ADJEI FRIMPONG J.A<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0in;">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:normal;border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;M. WOOD (MRS), JA&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The Respondent/Appellant (hereinafter
referred to as the Appellant) is appealing against the ruling of the High
Court, Labour Division, Accra delivered on 14th May 2021 in which
the said High Court ordered the enforcement of a decision of the
Applicant/Respondent (hereinafter referred to as the Respondent) dated 11th
February 2020.<o:p></o:p>The antecedents of the case are that the Appellant
offered a fixed one year term contract of employment to complainant Daniel Osei
as a Field Maintenance Engineer, from 1st June 2017 to 31st
May 2018. However, the Appellant by a letter dated 12th December,
2017 terminated the Complainant’s contract effective 31st December 2017
in accordance with paragraph 11 of the complainant’s contract of employment.
The said contract provided that either party to the contract could terminate
the contract by the giving of two weeks’ notice or payment of two weeks salary
in lieu.<o:p></o:p>The complainant on 23rd May 2018 filed a
complaint to the Respondent herein claiming among others compensation of Four
Hundred Thousand Cedis (GHȼ400,000.00) for unfair termination, psychological
and emotional trauma as well as an amount of Eight Thousand, Eight Hundred
Ghana Cedis (GHȼ8,800.00) being payment of deferred performance
bonus from May 2017 to December 2017. The Appellant filed a response to the
complaint on 19th July 2018 stating among others that the employment
was terminated in accordance with the terms of the contract and as such
complainant’s claim of unfair termination is untenable and without any basis.<o:p></o:p>After hearing the parties on 11th
February 2020, the Respondent gave its ruling by stating thus: “We have reviewed the whole case and we are
saying that the Labour Law was brought in to strengthen the position of your
case against the Common Law. The complainant was given a one (sic) contract of
employment and this was based on the contract you had with Huawei. Without any
disciplinary reason, you just gave two weeks notice to the complainant for
termination. Having heard both parties, the Commission decided that the
Respondent should pay the Complainant from the period which his contract was
terminated but take away the two weeks that have already been paid.” The
Respondent therefore stated that the termination of the complainant employment
contract was without any disciplinary reason; that the contract was terminated
based on two weeks’ notice to the complainant and that the complainant should
be paid salary for the unexpired period of his contract of employment.<o:p></o:p>