Emmanuel Thomas, Lagos
Nigeria, April 20, 2016 – The National Industrial Court of Nigeria(NICN) sitting in Lagos today ordered Zenith Bank PLC to pay Scot Moses Olayemi, a former employee of the bank N100, 000 as damages for acting in breach of contract it entered with the claimant.
The court presided over by her Lordship, Justice O.O. Oyewumi also ordered the bank to pay the claimant all his entitlements, including N62,425.75kobo as one month salary in lieu of notice for terminating appointment of the plaintiff without paying the requisite one month contained in the contract and a terminal benefit to the tune of N76,693.95 Kobo.
Justice Oyewumi also awarded N50, 000 as cost to the complainant and that Zenith Bank must pay the money within 30 days or pay the accumulated sum with an interest rate of 21 per annum until the judgement sum is liquidated.
The complainant had approached the court in suit No. NICN/LA/563/2013, seeking an order declaring his dismissal from the bank as unlawful and payment of his entitlements among other reliefs.
Ruling on the case cited as Scot Moses Olayemi VS Zenith Bank Plc., Managing Director, Zenith Bank Plc., Branch Manager Zenith Bank Plc., Ademola Adetokunbo Street, Victoria Island, Mrs. Alero Onwubuya, Peoplesplus Management Services and Managing Director, Peoplesplus Management Services, the learned judge, Her Lordship, Oyewumi, citing decided cases to buttress her pronouncement averred that the dismissal of the complainant was lawful since he was dismissed because his services were no longer needed but that the defendant acted in breach for not paying the one month in lieu of notice.
Her lordship also threw out the argument of the bank that the plaintiff was paid the required one month when it paid him only N6,250 being his basic salary instead of his full pay.
Justice Oyewumi equally threw out arguments put forward by the bank that the plaintiff was not an employee of then bank but that of Peoplesplus Management Services Limited, nothing that then plaintiff’s contract dated 7th May 2013, contravened his argument and that the court was not at liberty to look into other documents other than the contract of employment.
The plaintiff had hitherto told the court that he fell sick and obtained a sick leave certificate which he tendered on resumption to his superior, who then tore the certificate after wishing him quick recovery on suspicion that the certificate was forged and that the complainant was neither treated an inpatient nor as an outpatient in the said hospital.
