By Desire Emmanuel
The National Industrial Court has ordered the management of Sterling Bank Plc to pay one of its employees the sum of N10.45 million as gratuity as well as N300,000 as cost of action within 30 days.
Justice Anthony Ubaka of the Lagos Division of the court said the bank should pay the former employee, Mrs Blessing Nkechi, the money as outstanding gratuity for her years of service.
The judge declared that the failure of Sterling Bank to pay her accrued gratuity was wrongful, as the bank did not establish that the policy abolishing gratuity was duly communicated to her.
Justice Ubaka further ordered the bank to pay her the sum of N300,000 as cost of action within 30 days, failure which the judgment sum shall attract interest at the rate of 10 per cent per annum until fully liquidated.
Available documents from the court showed that Mrs Nkechi said that she was employed by Magnum Trust Bank in 2000 and her employment was transferred to Sterling Bank in 2006 following a merger.
She asserted that she served Sterling Bank diligently for over 20 years, rose through the ranks to the position of Assistant Manager, and resigned her appointment in December 2020.
She told the court that although she was paid part of her terminal benefits, the bank failed to include her gratuity, prompting her to demand payment through her solicitors.
However, Sterling Bank, in its defence, denied all the allegations and stated that Mrs Nkechi was not entitled to gratuity as the same had been abolished under the applicable Staff Handbook.
The bank contended that a revised Staff Handbook introduced in 2015 was communicated to all staff via email and had replaced the earlier handbook relied upon by the woman.
In addition, counsel to Sterling Bank argued that the former employee had been fully paid all her entitlements and she failed to establish any legal basis for her claim for gratuity and interest.
Her counsel, on the other hand, argued that the bank failed to prove that the 2015 Staff Handbook was communicated to his client and that her accrued rights could not be unilaterally extinguished.
Delivering judgment, Justice Ubaka held that an employer has the right to review its policies, but such changes must be properly communicated to the employee before they can take effect.
Justice Ubaka reasoned that there is enough evidence pointing to the fact that the woman was not aware of the employee handbook of 2015, and did not receive the email to all staff on stopping the payment of gratuity to staff who have not worked for five years before 2015.
The judge added that Sterling Bank failed to discharge the burden of proving that the woman was notified of the revised Staff Handbook abolishing gratuity.
The judge therefore held that Mrs Nkechi’s entitlement to gratuity under the earlier Staff Handbook subsists and cannot be taken away without proper notice.
