PRINCIPAL REGISTRY
MATTER NO. IRC 05 OF 2003
BETWEEN:
-and-
CORAM:
R. Zibelu Banda (Ms.), Deputy Chairperson
Applicant
Mitepa for respondent
Upon
reading the statement of claim from the applicant and upon hearing the
respondent, the court makes the following orders:
1. National Insurance Company,
the pension fund administrators through the respondent should within seven days
of today produce and submit to the applicant a full and detailed report of the
applicant’s pension benefits. The applicant may question the respondent on the
money paid to him only if the administrator show that the applicant had his
pension benefits tampered with by the respondent.
2. The applicant must be compensated for the
delay in receiving his pension benefits because this was a breach of the law.
The Employment Act 2000, in section 53(2) provides that pension benefits due to
an employee shall be paid within six weeks of the termination or completion of
the contract of employment. The applicant’s contract was terminated in February
in 2002 and he only got his pension benefits in November 2002. He is entitled
to an award of compensation equivalent to interest at bank rate from April 2002
to November 2002 on the
K36365-49 that he received as pension benefit. It is not a
defence that the pension is administered by a third party when that third party
is an agent of the respondent. The amount must be paid within seven days of
today. The interest is coming to K5818-48.
3. The applicant must be paid
the difference in the leave days that he received. In this case, the respondent
has conceded that the applicant was entitled to 24 days leave pay but only
received 6 days pay for 2001. The applicant must be paid for 24 days leave
accumulated in 2002. However, because the applicant did not complete the leave
year he is entitled to 14 days leave days accumulated from July to February. He
was getting a salary of K12793.00 per month. On a day basis he would be
receiving K 492.00. For 14 days, he gets K6889-00.
4. The respondent has conceded
that it has a contractual obligation to repatriate the applicant by providing
him with either transport or money equivalent to enable the applicant go back
to his home. The court orders that the applicant be repatriated within 14 days
of this order.
Pronounced
in Open Court
this 25th day of July 2003 at LIMBE.
R. Zibelu Banda (Ms.)