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The Presiding Judge, Kaduna Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court, Hon. Justice Bashar Alkali, has ordered the Registered Trustees of St. Gerard’s Catholic Hospital, the Registered Trustees of Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna, and the Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna to pay Mr Sunday, Ms Margaret, and Mr Ishaku outstanding salary arrears from 2020 to 2024, alongside monthly salaries until their employment is lawfully terminated.
The Court held that the continuous suspension of Sunday, Margaret, and Ishaku without pay beyond the period stipulated in their employment contracts constitutes a breach of the terms and conditions governing their employment.
From facts, the Claimants - Sunday, Margaret, and Ishaku had submitted that they were employees of St. Gerard’s Catholic Hospital whose appointments were confirmed and governed by their letters of employment and the Staff Manual, and that they were suspended indefinitely without pay from August 2020 without any prior query or justification.
Mr Sunday and two others stated that, despite remaining willing and ready to work, the Hospital and others refused to recall them or pay their salaries from July/August 2020 to September 2024, thereby causing severe hardship and violating the terms of their employment contracts.
In defence, the Defendants - Registered Trustees of St. Gerard’s Catholic Hospital and others posited that the suspension of Mr Sunday and 2 others was carried out in accordance with the Staff Handbook due to alleged misconduct and ongoing investigations involving Mr Sunday and 2 others.
Learned Counsel to the Hospital submitted that Mr Sunday and 2 others were not entitled to salaries during the period of suspension, as the contract of employment makes salary conditional upon the rendering of services, and urged the Court to dismiss the suit.
In opposition, learned Counsel to Mr Sunday and 2 others averred that the indefinite suspension without pay was contrary to the express provisions of the Staff Manual, which limits the duration of suspension and does not permit prolonged deprivation of salaries.
Counsel urged the Court to hold that the Hospital’s refusal to pay his clients' salaries for over four years, while keeping their employment subsisting, amounts to a clear breach of contract and an unfair labour practice.
Counsel further urged the Court to declare that the employment of his clients remains valid and subsisting, and that they are entitled to full payment of their salary arrears and continued remuneration until their employment is properly terminated in line with the contract.
In a well-considered judgment, Hon Justice Alkali held that Mr Sunday held that the Defendants acted outside the provisions of their own Staff Handbook by placing Mr Sunday and 2 others on an indefinite suspension without pay, despite the Handbook prescribing a limited period for such disciplinary action.
Justice Alkali held that suspension is only a temporary disciplinary measure and does not terminate the contract of employment, and as such, employees under suspension remain in the employment of the employer and cannot be deprived of their entitlements in breach of agreed terms.
The Court held that the continuous suspension of Mr Sunday and 2 others beyond two months without pay breaches the provision of the Staff manual handbook, and that Mr Sunday and 2 others are entitled to their salary for the period of their suspension till when their employment is terminated in accordance with the provision of the Staff manual handbook.
“As earlier held, the Claimants are on suspension, and their employment with the Defendants has not been terminated in accordance with the provisions of Exhibit CW003. The Claimants did not ask the Court to deem their employment terminated, neither was there any counterclaim by the Defendants; the Court cannot make or terminate the contract freely entered into by the parties, thus, the Claimants remain in the employment of the Defendants until the relationship is terminated in accordance with the provisions of Exhibit CW003.” The Court ruled.
The Court therefore declared that the employment of Sunday, Margaret, and Ishaku subsists and can only be determined in accordance with the terms of their contract of employment and extant labour laws.
Justice Alkali declared that Sunday John is entitled to N6.8m, Ms Margaret Eleoba to N8.2m, and Mr Ishaku to N3.7m as salary arrears, and ordered the Defendants to continue payment of their respective monthly salaries until their employment is lawfully terminated.
The Court also awarded the sum of N1m as costs in favour of Mr Sunday and 2 others and directed that all monetary awards be complied with within 30 days.
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