2021
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This Court of Appeal decision, authored by Asiedu JA and concurred in by Domakyaareh JA (Presiding) and Poku-Acheampong JA, reviews a High Court judgment that found two employees’ dismissals unlawful and awarded substantial salary and benefits. The incident arose after the 2nd Plaintiff searched the 1st Plaintiff at shift end under CCTV monitoring; security officer Collins Afriyie (DW1) did not immediately re-search in public, later presenting inconsistent accounts of allegedly retrieving gold concentrate. The CDC recommended dismissal. On appeal, the Court held the employer failed to prove theft beyond reasonable doubt in this civil case and that the CDC and company did not comply with their Disciplinary Code and the Collective Agreement, reinforcing unlawfulness. However, the High Court’s damages were varied: multi-year salaries and benefits were set aside and replaced with one year’s salary as damages, reflecting mitigation and private employment principles. The costs award of GH ,000 per Plaintiff was upheld. The appeal thus succeeded in part, limited to the variation of damages.
ASIEDU, JA.
My lords, this appeal is brought against the judgment of the High Court, Obuasi delivered on the 12th day of February 2019. The Plaintiffs/Respondents had, on the 13th day of October 2015, filed a writ of summons against the Defendant/Appellant before the High Court for:
A declaration that the dismissal of the Plaintiffs from their lawful employment with the 1st Defendant Company was unlawful, illegal, unfair, wrongful and/or null and void.
An Order of the Honourable Court directed at the 1st Defendant Company to reinstate the Plaintiffs and pay them their salaries from January, 2012 to date of final judgment.
An Order of the Honourable Court directed at the 1st Defendant Company to pay the Plaintiffs the remainder of their two months’ salary which they received only half of the amounts involved after the investigation into their cases took more than the stipulated one month.
A further Order of the Honourable Court directed at the 1st Defendant Company to treat the Plaintiffs as their employees and deal with them in the same manner it has dealt with its employees after the judgment.
A further Order of the Honourable Court directed at the 1st Defendant Company to adequately compensate the Plaintiffs for unlawfully, illegally, unfairly and wrongfully dismissing them.
A further Order of the Honourable Court to pay them their retrenchment/redeployment benefits as the 1st Defendant-Company has done to some of its employees.
Costs including Counsel’s fees.
Any other relief(s) that the Honourable court may deem fit.
After hearing the case, the High Court found for the Plaintiffs/Respondents and entered judgment for most of the reliefs sought by the Plaintiffs against the Defendant/Appellant. Aggrieved, the Defendant/Appellant filed the instant appeal against the said judgment on the grounds that:
The learned trial judge erred when he held that the termination of the Plaintiffs/Respondents’ employment was unlawful.
The learned trial judge erred when he granted the Plaintiffs/Respondents seven (7) years salaries each, an additional six (6) months’ salary for the 1st Plaintiff/Respondent and twelve (12) months’ salary for the 2nd Plaintiff/Respondent as benefits, including long service and reparation.
The learned trial judge erred in awarding costs of GH₵8,000 to each of the Plaintiffs.
Additional grounds of appeal may be filed upon receiving the record of appeal.
On the basis of the grounds of appeal, the Defendant/Appellant prays this co