FELIX YAW BANI v. MAERSK GHANA LTD.

OFOE J.A:

Plaintiff was the Inland Container Depot (I.C.D ) Supervisor of the Defendant Company. His employment was terminated due mainly to two incidents that happened in the course of his employment. The defendant Company, puts the incidents at three but the record of appeal discloses two.

The first incident occurred on July 27, 2006 at about 3:50 pm when a third party truck i.e. a vehicle that did not belong to the Defendant was allowed into the defendant’s Kumasi Depot premises where plaintiff was the Supervisor. The vehicle left the yard on the 29th of July, 2006. The second incident was when the same vehicle entered the yard on the16th of August, 2006 and spent the night over to the 17th of August, 2006. In both these incidents a certain Kenneth Kpedor was alleged to have permitted the driver of the vehicle, Yusif Seidu another employee of the respondents and the vehicle into the yard. It was appellant’s case that he knew nothing about the vehicle’s entry into the yard. The vehicle on both occasions was in the yard before he got to work. In respect of the 27th incident, the vehicle had a burst tyre when he first saw it in the yard and he couldn’t have sent it out of the yard until the tyre was repaired on the 29th.

An investigation committee was set up which indeed investigated the incidents resulting in the defendant Company terminating the plaintiff’s employment. The relevant part of the report is as follows:

“…..Further to the findings of the subcommittee set up on the 29th September to look into the case of an unauthorized third party truck in our Kumasi Depot and the circumstances surrounding this case management regrets to inform you it has made the decision to terminate your appointment with MAERSK Ghana Limited based on the following findings;

You failed to exercise required supervision at the Kumasi Depot, in your capacity as ICD supervisor, whereby an unauthorized third party truck was brought into the yard on a number of occasions against company policy. By your lack of effective supervision you placed the company at enormous risk.

This termination takes effect from Friday September 22, 2006. You are to hand over all company property in your possession to the Kumasi Area Manager by Thursday September 21, 2006.

Please see the Human Resource Department for any entitlement due you

SIGNED”

The plaintiff believing he has been unfairly treated went to court against the defendant claiming:

“1. A declaration that the termination of plain