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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2023 |
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Employer failed to prove gross negligence; termination was unfair and compensation plus severance awarded to applicant.
Labour law – unfair termination – employer's burden to prove fairness (s.39 ELRA) – insufficiency of undated/untendered investigation report – entitlement to compensation (12 months) and severance (s.42 ELRA) – certificate of service (s.44(2) ELRA).
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15 December 2023 |
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Termination found substantively and procedurally unfair; applicant awarded notice pay and remaining fixed-term salary.
Labour law – unfair termination – substantive and procedural fairness; fixed-term contract – compensation for unexpired period; disciplinary procedure – proof of convening and conduct of hearing; admissibility of secondary/ amended termination letters.
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14 December 2023 |
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Failure to allow objection to exhibits at CMA denied right to be heard, vitiating proceedings and requiring retrial de novo.
Labour law – Admissibility of evidence – Exhibits must be formally tendered and parties given opportunity to object – Failure to afford right to comment vitiates CMA proceedings – Award quashed and retrial de novo ordered.
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14 December 2023 |
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Court records and enforces parties’ settlement in a labour revision application as a consent judgment enforceable as a decree.
Labour law — Revision proceedings — Consent judgment — Court recording and enforcement of parties’ settlement; incorporation of payment, vacation of premises and withdrawal of related land proceedings into decree.
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14 December 2023 |
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Failure to file mandatory CMA F10 within the revision timeframe rendered the extension application incompetent and it was struck out.
Labour procedure — mandatory precondition to revision — Notice to seek Revision (CMA F10) must be filed at CMA within the 42-day revision period; GN. No. 47 of 2017 (Rule 34) governs CMA F10; Rule 29 GN. No. 64 of 2007 inapplicable; failure to file timely CMA F10 renders revision proceedings incompetent — remedy: strike out.
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13 December 2023 |
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Employer proved dishonesty but procedural unfairness warranted reduced compensation and quashing of large nominal damages.
* Labour law – unfair termination – employer proved misconduct (dishonesty) on balance of probabilities via WhatsApp and documentary evidence. * Standard of proof – civil/balance of probabilities applies; CMA erred by requiring higher standard and expert to interpret symbol '/='. * Procedural fairness – failure to serve investigation report before hearing breaches natural justice but investigator’s impartiality must be proved. * Remedies – where substantive misconduct proved but procedural lapse exists, compensation may be reduced; excessive and unsupported nominal damages quashed.
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12 December 2023 |
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Applicant’s condonation was dismissed for failure to account 39 days’ delay; alleged illegality not apparent on the record.
Labour law – condonation for late referral – Rule 10(2) GN. No. 64/2007 (60-day limit for other disputes); requirements for extension of time (Lyamuya factors); illegality as ground for extension must be apparent on the face of the record; continuous breach not a substitute for accounting for delay.
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12 December 2023 |
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Dismissal for unauthorised absenteeism upheld; disciplinary process and appeal opportunity found properly observed.
Labour law – unfair termination – absenteeism without permission; Evidence – documentary evidence supersedes oral testimony; Procedural fairness – disciplinary hearing and internal appeal obligations; Deductions – employer may deduct for unreturned property.
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12 December 2023 |
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Court set aside dismissal of execution order but refused to restore an unproven execution application; applicant may file fresh execution.
Civil procedure — Execution of award — Proof of authority for advocate to file execution — Rule 10(2), Order XXI (Advocate signing execution documents) — Requirement to prove advocate's act and client authorization — Effect of dismissed execution where filing not proved.
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11 December 2023 |
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Termination for gross dishonesty and forgery upheld where misconduct proved on balance of probabilities and procedures followed.
Employment law – termination for misconduct – gross dishonesty and forgery – standard of proof: balance of probabilities – admissibility of documentary evidence – disciplinary procedure under GN No. 42 of 2007 – investigation report not strictly fatal where minutes and other documents prove misconduct.
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8 December 2023 |
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Court granted extension of time to file revision due to excusable technical delay and prompt action by the applicant.
Labour law – Extension of time to file revision – Section 91 ELRA – Technical delay vs. negligence – Lyamuya principles applied – Promptness and accounting for delay.
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7 December 2023 |
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Revision of CMA award dismissed as time‑barred for failure to seek extension after being availed with the award.
Labour law — Revision of CMA award — Time limitation under s.91(1)(a) ELRA (42 days) — Receipt/availability of award — Requirement to apply for extension of time — Law of Limitation Act s.3(1).
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7 December 2023 |
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Employer failed to prove probation and did not follow misconduct procedures; CMA award for unfair termination upheld.
* Employment law – written particulars and burden of proof (s.15(6) ELRA) when no written contract supplied
* Employment law – probationary status; employer must prove probationary terms
* Employment law – unfair termination for misconduct; mandatory procedures required
* Labour procedure – jurisdiction and timeliness of CMA claim (breach vs unfair termination)
* Remedies – compensation for remaining period of fixed-term contract
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6 December 2023 |
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Mediator has jurisdiction to determine condonation, but applicant failed to justify a 604-day filing delay.
* Labour law – condonation – whether CMA Mediator has jurisdiction to determine condonation applications under GN. No. 64/2007 (Rules 12 and 15). * Civil procedure/evidence – admissibility of documents – documents not in tribunal record may be properly excluded. * Burden of proof – party alleging reasons for delay must prove them; unexplained inordinate delay justifies refusal of condonation. * Time limits – Rule 10(1) & (2) GN. No. 64/2007 regarding timelines for filing disputes.
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5 December 2023 |
| November 2023 |
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Revision improper; appeal under Workers' Compensation Act required and Board of Trustees is a necessary party.
Workers' compensation — procedure — conflict between statutory appeal (s.80(2) Workers' Compensation Act) and subsidiary regulation (Reg.29(3)) — principal Act prevails; Necessary party — Board of Trustees of Workers Compensation Fund must be joined where Fund liabilities are affected; Representation — notice must be signed by the party (Rule 43); Form and service requirements — compliance with Rule 24 (notice) and Rule 46 (index/pagination) required though some defects may be curable under overriding objective; Remedy — strike out (not dismissal) to permit proper refiling.
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30 November 2023 |
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Applicant who accepted retrenchment package is estopped from challenging retrenchment's validity and procedures.
Employment law – retrenchment – substantive fairness (operational requirements/losses) – procedural fairness – consultation and acceptance of retrenchment package – issue estoppel – requirement to pursue mediation under s.38 Employment and Labour Relations Act – arbitrator's reliance on oral evidence.
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29 November 2023 |
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Fixed-term contract expired by its terms; arbitrator erred by deciding unpleaded legitimate-expectation issue and award was quashed.
* Employment law – fixed-term contract – renewal only by mutual agreement – contract expires automatically on expiry date (Rule 4(2) GN. No. 42/2007).
* Employment law – notice of non-renewal is not necessarily termination; may be a courtesy where expiry date known.
* Civil procedure – arbitrator raising unpleaded issues suo motu – duty to afford parties opportunity to be heard; decision-maker bound by pleadings.
* Remedies – reinstatement and back pay inappropriate where contract expired by effluxion of time and unfair termination not proved.
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29 November 2023 |
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An improperly signed clarification application led an arbitrator to exceed jurisdiction by revising, not clarifying, a CMA award.
Labour law – CMA procedure – Notice of application must be signed by the party (Rule 29 GN. No.64 of 2007); Clarification of award is distinct from revision or calculation; Arbitrator lacks jurisdiction to revise fellow arbitrator’s award or assume executing officer’s functions.
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29 November 2023 |
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Sickness inadequately proven and negotiations do not suspend limitation; condonation refused and revision dismissed.
Labour law – condonation of time for filing unfair termination disputes; sickness as ground for extension – requirements for evidence; duty to account for each day of delay (Lyamuya principle); pre‑court negotiations do not stop running of limitation period.
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28 November 2023 |
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Affidavit attested abroad by an advocate not authorised under Tanzanian law is defective; application struck out.
Notaries and commissioners for oaths – Foreign attestation – Jurat – Cap 12 R.E. 2019 – Foreign advocate has no automatic right to practise as notary/commissioner for oaths in Tanzania – Authentication of foreign affidavits by Registrar required.
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28 November 2023 |
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28 November 2023 |
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24 November 2023 |
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Technical delay and prompt action justified 14-day extension to file CMA F10 for intended revision.
Labour law – extension of time – notice of intention to seek revision (CMA F10) – Regulation 34(1) GN No.47 of 2017 – mandatory forms – technical delay where original revision filed in time – promptness and prevention of double punishment – illegality issue reserved for revision.
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17 November 2023 |
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Alleged illegality of termination and non-payment of terminal benefits justified extension of time despite inordinate delay.
* Labour law – condonation/extension of time – when alleged illegality (e.g., unlawful termination and non-payment of terminal benefits) justifies extension despite inordinate delay. * Procedure – right to be heard – arbitrator must consider substantive allegations and reasons for delay. * Precedents – Lyamuya (accounting for delay) and Valambia (duty to investigate alleged illegality).
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17 November 2023 |
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Fixed-term contract renewed by default where employee continued working and was paid; CMA award varied, leave claim disallowed.
* Labour law – Fixed-term contracts – automatic (default) renewal where employee continues working after expiry and is remunerated.
* Evidence – admissibility and inference: non-admission of bank statement does not preclude drawing inference from other evidence and parties' conduct.
* Statutory guidance – Rule 4(3) GN 42/2007 and s.61 Labour Institutions Act factors for establishing employment relationship.
* Remedies – variation (not quash) of CMA award where a component (leave allowance) lacks proof; reduction of award accordingly.
* Procedural – High Court may exercise revisional jurisdiction to vary CMA awards when grounds are established.
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17 November 2023 |
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Adjudicator may decide extension applications; a death certificate alone does not prove sufficient cause for late filing.
Labour — Extension of time — Jurisdiction of adjudicator under T.S. No.64/2004 — Sufficiency of cause — Death certificate alone insufficient to prove caregiver-related delay — Burden to explain each day of delay and produce corroborative evidence.
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15 November 2023 |
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A challenge to the CMA's grant of condonation is interlocutory and premature for revision; file remitted to CMA.
Labour law — Condonation at CMA — Interlocutory order — Revision premature — Rule 12(1)(2)(c) GN. No.64/2007; Rule 50 Labour Court Rules — Test: does order finally dispose of parties' rights?
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14 November 2023 |
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CMA award of unpaid salaries for alleged sickness/abscondment quashed for absence of medical proof and evidential basis.
Labour law – absenteeism and entitlement to sick pay; Section 32 ELRA – requirement of medical certificate for sick leave protection; GN. No. 42/2007 Rule 13(6) – disciplinary hearing in employee’s absence; distinction between withholding salary and lawful deduction (Section 28); review of CMA award for lack of evidential basis.
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14 November 2023 |
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Court quashed CMA award, finding the respondent’s termination substantively and procedurally fair for serious negligence.
* Employment law – unfair dismissal – substantive fairness – serious negligence in preparing invoice advice and releasing containers without full payment. * Employment law – procedural fairness – notice, hearing, admission at disciplinary hearing, and requirement (or not) for prior investigation. * Review of arbitral award – superior court interference where lower tribunal misapplies law or discretion. * Interpretation and application of GN No. 42 of 2007 (Code of Good Practices) and employer code of conduct.
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14 November 2023 |
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A registered union’s statutory right to enter workplace for recruitment and meetings is enforceable; fines must be imposed by lower courts.
* Labour law – Trade union organizational rights – s.60 ELRA – right to enter employer premises to recruit, communicate and hold meetings; notice under s.64 (TUF14).
* Compliance and obstruction – Employer’s unjustified refusal to allow union access unlawful.
* Jurisdiction – Imposition of statutory penalties under ELRA reserved to District/Resident Magistrate’s Courts (s.102(1)).
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10 November 2023 |
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A CMA grant of condonation is interlocutory; revision must await final determination of the substantive dispute.
Labour law – Condonation for late referral to CMA – Whether condonation decision is interlocutory or final – Rule 50 Labour Court Rules – Section 86 ELRA – Avoidance of piecemeal litigation and promotion of expeditious labour dispute resolution.
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10 November 2023 |
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CMA Ilala lacked territorial jurisdiction because the cause of action arose in Mwanza; the CMA award is nullified.
Labour law – territorial jurisdiction of CMA – cause of action must be determined by locus where misconduct and supporting evidence arose; referral must be filed at CMA office responsible for that area unless the Commission directs otherwise – disciplinary venue at employer’s Head Office does not shift territorial jurisdiction.
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10 November 2023 |
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A CMA order granting condonation is interlocutory and not subject to revision until final determination.
* Labour law – condonation – CMA condonation orders treated as interlocutory and not subject to revision before final determination – Rule 11(2) GN No. 64/2007 – Rule 50 LCR – objectives of speedy and inexpensive labour dispute resolution; right to be heard.
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9 November 2023 |
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8 November 2023 |
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Alleged illegality does not automatically justify a five-year extension; applicant must account for all delay and show diligence.
* Civil procedure – extension of time – applications to lodge notice of appeal – principles from Lyamuya and Valambhia – illegality must be apparent on the face of record.
* Delay – applicant must account for all days of delay; delay must not be inordinate; must show diligence.
* Conduct – pursuing multiple remedies and withholding material facts may defeat an extension of time.
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7 November 2023 |
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Applicant's re‑enrolment of execution dismissed as time‑barred under Item 21 Part III of the Law of Limitation.
* Labour procedure — re‑enrolment of execution — absence of prescribed time limit in labour rules — recourse to general limitation law under Rule 55 LCR.
* Law of Limitation Act — Item 21 Part III — 60‑day limitation for actions where no period provided.
* Limitation as jurisdictional bar — time‑barred applications to be dismissed; no sympathy or equity applies.
* Remedy for late filing — dismissal under the Law of Limitation Act (s.3(1)).
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7 November 2023 |
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Proceedings where a tribunal hears merits before deciding a timely preliminary objection on limitation are null and must be remitted for retrial.
Labour law — Procedural law — Preliminary objections — Time limitation — A tribunal must determine preliminary points of objection (including limitation) before hearing merits; failure to do so renders proceedings and decision nullity and warrants remittal for retrial before a different arbitrator.
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7 November 2023 |
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Court upheld lifting of corporate veil and ordered applicant’s detention to enforce unpaid decretal sum.
* Company law – lifting corporate veil – directors’ liability where company refuses to honour decretal award; * Civil procedure – execution by arrest and detention under Sections 42, 44 and Order XXI of the Civil Procedure Code – requirements for show-cause summons and committal; * Joinder/name error – curability and appellate remedy; * Execution practice – when piercing corporate veil is appropriate to satisfy judgment.
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3 November 2023 |
| October 2023 |
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Arbitrator mischaracterised a contractual variation as retrenchment; award quashed and revised to limited salary payment.
Labour law – fixed-term contract – contractual variation under clause 12.0 – limitation period for referral (date dispute arose) – distinction between contractual variation and retrenchment – arbitrator exceeding issues pleaded – fairness of concurrent leave without pay and contract shortening – remedy: payment of salaries.
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31 October 2023 |
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Fixed‑term contracts ending 30 December 2021 rendered the applicants’ referral to CMA time‑barred; revision dismissed.
Labour law – limitation period for referral of termination disputes to CMA; fixed‑term versus unspecified duration contracts; evidential burden and standard of proof in civil employment disputes; revisional jurisdiction and scope of interference with CMA awards.
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31 October 2023 |
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Extension granted where a timely but defective revision was struck out and applicant promptly refiled within eight days.
Labour — Extension of time to file revision — Technical delay where earlier timely but defective revision was struck out — Prompt refiling within eight days amounts to good cause; applicant’s diligence assessed; alleged illegality need not be decided where technical delay suffices.
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31 October 2023 |
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Refusal to report to reassigned station did not constitute constructive dismissal; revision dismissed.
* Labour law – constructive dismissal – Rule 7(1) GN. No. 42 of 2007 – three requirements for constructive dismissal (employee resignation; intolerable conditions; employer caused intolerability)
* Burden of proof – employee must prove resignation and employer-made intolerable conditions
* Lawful cessation of salary where employee ceases reporting to work
* Fixed-term contracts – unfair termination principles under section 37 ELRA apply except to contracts under six months
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27 October 2023 |
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CMA award quashed and remitted after finding timeliness partly met and the parties denied right to be heard on breach claim.
Labour law – limitation periods for CMA referrals (30 days for termination, 60 days for other disputes) – timeliness of dispute over unpaid leave; natural justice – right to be heard before adverse procedural ruling; appellate relief – quashing and remitting where material issue not determined by tribunal.
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27 October 2023 |
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25 October 2023 |
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Complainant lacked ten continuous years on an unspecified-period contract and so was not entitled to voluntary retirement benefits.
Labour law – Collective Bargain Agreement – interpretation – application to permanent/unspecified-period employees – voluntary retirement benefits – requirement of ten (10) years continuous unbroken service – binding effect of CBA.
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20 October 2023 |
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An award based on one-sided hearing is ex-parte regardless of title; remedy to set it aside lies at the CMA, not the High Court.
Labour law — Arbitration — Ex-parte awards — Award rendered after one party’s non-appearance is ex-parte regardless of labelling; remedy to set aside lies at the CMA (by application), not by High Court substitution; Rule permitting arbitrator to proceed where a party fails to attend.
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20 October 2023 |
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Technical delay from court officer’s rejection justified a 14-day extension to file the intended revision.
Labour law — extension of time to file revision — technical delay caused by court officer’s rejection of electronically-filed revision — sufficiency of accounting for delay — inordinate delay principle.
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19 October 2023 |
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An arbitrator cannot bar a party’s chosen personal representative without evidential justification; matter remitted to CMA.
* Labour law – Representation at CMA – Right of a party to be represented by a personal representative under section 88(9)(c) – arbitrator’s power to bar representative requires evidential justification.
* Civil procedure – Preliminary objection – Distinction between points of law and matters of fact/evidence – preliminary objections based on facts cannot be sustained without evidence.
* Constitutional law – Right to be heard – interlocutory CMA orders affecting fundamental rights may be reviewed despite Rule 50.
* Precedent – Misapplication of distinguishable case law by arbitrator does not justify barring representation.
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19 October 2023 |
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Arbitrator’s failure to properly admit exhibits and to hear parties vitiated the CMA award, requiring a de novo rehearing.
Labour law – evidence and procedure: admissibility and proper tendering of exhibits; right to be heard – arbitral decision raising defects suo motu in award; procedural irregularity vitiating CMA proceedings; remedy – nullification and rehearing de novo before different arbitrator.
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19 October 2023 |
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Applicant entitled to terminal benefits where employer failed to produce proof of payment despite procedurally fair retrenchment.
Employment law – Retrenchment – procedural fairness (consultation and retrenchment agreement) – Evidence – employer's duty to keep and produce payment records under s.15(5),(6) ELA – failure to prove payment entitles employee to agreed terminal benefits.
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19 October 2023 |