The Presiding Judge of the Uyo Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court, Hon. Justice Salisu Danjidda, has declared the termination of Mr Ifiok’s employment by Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution (PHED) as wrongful.
The Court held that Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution failed to follow due process as required by law and ordered the company to pay Mr Ifiok the sum of N1.1m, being his basic salary for a period of three years as general damages, within 30 days.
From facts, the Claimant, Mr Ifiok, had submitted that he was employed by Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution in 2013, had his employment confirmed in 2015, and served the Electricity Company diligently for about nine years, with his performance appraisal consistently not less than 80%.
Mr Ifiok maintained that his employment was unlawfully terminated on the ground of consistent underperformance and inability to meet targets despite never violating the terms of his employment and without being afforded a fair hearing as required by the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution conditions of service.
In defence, Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution stated that Mr Ifiok’s employment was terminated as a result of his consistent underperformance and inability to meet targets.
The company stated that the performance of Mr Ifiok was evaluated, queries were issued to him for underperformance, and that having paid Mr Ifiok his full entitlement upon termination, the Court could not order his reinstatement and that the monetary claims sought by Mr Ifiok had not been proved.
Mr Ifiok’s counsel, Ekusua Ekong Esq argued that Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution failed to establish the alleged underperformance or show that his client was afforded a fair hearing in accordance with its conditions of service before terminating his employment and urged the Court to grant the reliefs sought.
In a well-considered judgment, the presiding Judge, Hon. Justice Salisu Hamisu Danjidda, held that the relationship between Mr Ifiok and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution was governed by their contract of employment and the Electricity Company’s conditions of service, and that the parties are bound by the terms of their agreement, which the Court cannot rewrite.
The Court held that Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution failed to establish that it complied with the procedure prescribed under its conditions of service before terminating Mr Ifiok’s employment, particularly the provisions requiring investigation of the alleged underperformance, warnings, performance improvement programmes and fair hearing before termination.
Justice Danjidda further held that there was no evidence before the Court that the alleged underperformance of Mr Ifiok was investigated to determine whether it resulted from incapacity or attitude, nor was there evidence of any warnings, performance improvement programmes or disciplinary proceedings as contemplated by the conditions of service of Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution.
The Court held that the termination of Mr Ifiok’s employment on the ground of underperformance without giving him the opportunity to be heard was not justified and was therefore wrongful.