The National Industrial Court sitting in Lagos has ordered Acorn Petroleum to pay a former employee, Mr. Israel Orisanwo, outstanding salaries, allowances, pension deductions, and damages after the company failed to prove that some of the entitlements had been paid or remitted.
Delivering judgment at the Lagos Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court, Hon. Justice Rabiu Gwandu directed Acorn Petroleum to pay Mr. Orisanwo outstanding salaries for March, April, May, and June 2016, including a 13th-month salary, at the rate of ₦604,000 monthly.
The court also awarded ₦1,527,778 as transportation allowance, 13th-month salaries of ₦785,000 for 2015 and ₦392,000 for 2016, respectively, as well as ₦700,000 in general damages. In addition, the court ordered the company to remit ₦3,365,174 to the claimant’s Pension Fund Administrator for unremitted pension deductions.
According to the claimant, following the conversion of the termination of his employment to resignation, Acorn Petroleum owed him ₦8,058,506 as of June 29, 2016. He told the court that the amount represented unpaid salaries, allowances, and other entitlements contained in his contract of employment, alongside ₦3,365,174 being pension deductions for 32 months that were not remitted to his Pension Fund Administrator.
In its defence, Acorn Petroleum admitted owing Mr. Orisanwo ₦1,812,000, representing salaries for March, April, and May 2016 at the rate of ₦604,000 per month. The company, however, argued that under the terms of the employment contract and workers’ handbook, the claimant was required to give one month’s notice before resigning or forfeit one month’s salary in lieu of notice.
Acorn Petroleum further contended that, upon accepting the claimant’s resignation letter, Mr. Orisanwo automatically forfeited his salary for June 2016.
During final arguments, counsel to the claimant, Dr. Olukayode Olatunji, told the court that his client had struggled to secure another job, not because he was incompetent, but because information about employees’ status spreads quickly within the oil industry. He urged the court to grant the reliefs sought by the claimant.
In his judgment, Justice Gwandu held that the burden rested on Mr. Orisanwo to prove the amount to which he was entitled monthly, despite Acorn Petroleum’s admission that it owed him salaries for March, April, and May 2016 at ₦604,000 monthly.
The court subsequently ordered Acorn Petroleum to pay the claimant outstanding salaries for March, April, May, and June 2016, including the 13th-month salary at the same rate of ₦604,000.
Justice Gwandu also awarded the claimant ₦1,527,778 as transportation allowance covering the period from March 2013 to January 2014, but dismissed the claim for fuel allowance from July 2015 to February 2016, ruling that the request lacked merit.
On the claim for 13th-month salaries for 2015 and 2016, the court held that Acorn Petroleum neither specifically denied the claims nor provided evidence that the payments had been made. The court therefore granted the claims of ₦785,000 for 2015 and ₦392,000 for 2016.
Regarding the claim for salary in lieu of termination, the court held that the earlier termination letter issued to Mr. Orisanwo became ineffective after he submitted his resignation letter, which took precedence under the terms of the employment contract.
Justice Gwandu ruled that, since the claimant resigned voluntarily and his employment was not terminated by the company, he was not entitled to payment in lieu of termination.
The court further ordered Acorn Petroleum to remit ₦3,365,174 to the claimant’s Pension Fund Administrator after the company failed to provide evidence that the pension deductions had been duly remitted.
“Despite the refusal to award interest on monies above, I hereby make an Order to the effect that should the Defendant fail to pay the above-ordered judgment sums within one month of this judgment, the judgment sums will attract an interest of 10 per cent per annum until fully liquidated,” Justice Gwandu said.
