The Employment Court has dismissed a claim by former Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) employee, ruling that the organisation did not breach the principles of equal employment opportunity or fair labour practices when it appointed another candidate to the position of Senior Customs Officer.
In a judgment delivered on 23 July, Justice Vishwa Datt Sharma found that FRCS had followed its recruitment policy and standard operating procedures throughout the selection process.
The case centred on the worker’s claim that he was unfairly overlooked for the position after being made redundant in December 2021. He argued that FRCS had denied him a fair opportunity for employment and career advancement by appointing another candidate and later advertising the position again.
However, the court found that the successful applicant had outperformed the worker during the recruitment process.
Justice Sharma noted that “all candidates undergo recruitment process and those who meet the MQR are shortlisted for aptitude test and interview and the interview is conducted and assessed by three panel members.”
Rejecting the worker’s allegations, Justice Sharma ruled: “I do not find that the Defendant, Fiji Revenue and Customs Service, by not appointing the Plaintiff… acted in any breach of the principles of equal employment opportunity and fair labour practices.”
The court dismissed the worker’s application and ordered that each party bear its own legal costs.
The ruling also confirmed that the worker had received a redundancy package following his compulsory redundancy in December 2021, including one week’s pay for each completed year of service, a $2,000 ex gratia payment, salary up to his final day of employment and other statutory entitlements.
