The Employment Relations Court has ordered the Fiji Sugar Corporation to immediately reinstate a former weighbridge clerk after ruling that his dismissal almost four years ago was unlawful.
Justice Dane Tuiqereqere, in a judgment delivered on August 21, allowed an appeal by Roniel Rohit Lal and quashed a 2024 Employment Relations Tribunal decision that had upheld his dismissal.
Mr Lal had worked for FSC since June 2013 before his employment was terminated on August 8, 2022.
The dismissal followed allegations arising from an incident on July 26, 2022, including that Mr Lal had verbally and physically abused another employee, vandalised an FSC vehicle, was intoxicated and had verbally abused a general manager.
Justice Tuiqereqere found that while the Tribunal had determined that FSC had failed to prove the allegations, it had nevertheless concluded there was a valid reason to dismiss Mr Lal.
“The Tribunal’s findings cannot be reconciled with its conclusions,” Justice Tuiqereqere said.
He said if FSC’s allegations could not be proven, the correct conclusion was that the termination was unlawful, rather than merely procedurally unfair.
“As the allegations could not be proven, FSC could not demonstrate any gross misconduct,” the judge said.
“There was, therefore, no proper basis for FSC to terminate the appellant’s employment and no basis for the Tribunal to find that the termination was lawful.”
The court ordered Mr Lal to be reinstated immediately to his position as a weighbridge clerk.
However, Justice Tuiqereqere declined Mr Lal’s request for reimbursement of wages covering the period since his dismissal, finding that his behaviour during the incident was “less than satisfactory” and had contributed to the problems he subsequently faced.
The court instead awarded Mr Lal six months’ wages as compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings arising from the unlawful termination.
FSC must pay the compensation, less the three months’ wages already paid under the Tribunal’s earlier order, within 30 days.
