Eric Afful was employed as the Chief Operations Officer of Deews Construction Company, in 2003. In 2015, the company undertook a major restructuring resulting in re-assignment of Eric to the role of Building Inspector. In this new role, his signing authorities were withdrawn and all subordinate staff transferred out of his department. His salary was reduced drastically and he was informed by the MD that the company’s budget would not be able to meet his salary. When he complained, he was advised to keep quiet or have his appointment terminated.
Required:
a) Comment on the right of the employer in the case. (5 marks)
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The rights of employer include the right to employ a worker, discipline, transfer, promote and terminate the employment of the worker – [Section 8(a) of Labour Act, 2003, (Act 651)]
Section 8 outlines the rights of the employer as among others to:
- Employ a worker, discipline, transfer, promote and terminate the employment of the worker.
- Formulate policies, execute plans and programmes, and set targets.
- Modify, extend or cease operations, and
- Determine the type of products to make or sell and the prices of its goods and services.
- It is not within the right of the employer to reduce the salary of the employee/worke
b) On what THREE (3) grounds can Eric’s appointment be terminated? (9 marks)
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Per Section 15 of the Labour Act, a contract of employment may be terminated as follows:
- By mutual agreement between the employer and the worker;
- By the worker on grounds of ill-treatment or sexual harassment;
- By the employer on the death of the worker before the expiration of the period of employment;
- By the employer if the worker is found on medical examination to be unfit for employment;
- By the employer because of the inability of the worker to carry out work due to sickness or accident; or the incompetence of the worker; or the proven misconduct of the worker.
c) What TWO (2) remedies will be available to Eric in the event of unfair termination? (6 marks)
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- Re-instatement from the date of the termination of employment;
- Re-employment of the worker, in the work for which the worker was employed before the termination
- Damages or order the employer to pay compensation to the worker. (a) order the employer to re-instate the worker