Dorothea Whitlock v Doctors' Hospital (Bahamas) Ltd

• Jurisdiction: Bahamas
• Court: Industrial Court (Bahamas)
• Judgment Date: 27 July 2007
• Docket Number: No. 1021 of 2007

In the matter of the Industrial Relations Act

And

In the matter of the Employment Act, 2001

Dorothea Whitlock

Applicant

and

Doctors' Hospital (Bahamas) Limited

Respondent

No. 1021 of 2007

INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL

NASSAU

Counsel for Applicant — Obie Ferguson Jr.

Counsel for Respondent — Mrs. Michaela Sumner-Budhi

DECISION AND REASONS

The Facts:

1 The Applicant aged 58 years, commenced employment with the

2 Respondent on October 1, 1991.

3 The Applicant was purportedly summarily dismissed by the Respondent on March 21, 2005, for poor job performance.

4 At the time of the Applicant's summary dismissal she was employed by the Respondent in the capacity of Insurance Service Representative; she had/has a Bachelor of Science degree in education from the University of Miami, and had received a number of certificates in accounting and a certificate in conversational Creole. Her salary at the time of her dismissal was Six Hundred an Ninety Four Dollars ($694.00) per week.

5 By Originating Application dated February 1, 2007, the Applicant alleged that she was wrongfully dismissed by the Respondent, and she claimed damages for wrongful dismissal together with ancillary relief including group medical insurance payments payable by the Respondent with respect to the reasonable notice period of termination of her employment which the Respondent ought to have given to her.

6 In the alternative the Applicant claimed reinstatement of her employment against the Respondent.

7 In its Defence dated February 14, 2007, the Respondent alleged that it did not wrongfully dismiss the Applicant, and averred that it summarily dismissed the Applicant for just cause due to her poor job performance.

8 In the circumstances the Respondent averred that the Applicant was not entitled to damages for wrongful dismissal or any damages at all; neither was she entitled to an order by the Tribunal for reinstatement of her employment.

The Hearing:

9 The Hearing of this matter commenced before the Tribunal on May 21, 2007, and the Tribunal adverted the parties to section 60 of the Industrial Relations Act, Chapter 321, which obliged it to make all such suggestions and do all such things as appear to be right and proper for reconciling the differences between the parties.

10 Counsel for both parties agreed and informed the Tribunal that the only matter which remained to be decided was the question of what constituted reasonable notice of termination of the Applicant's employment. The Applicant abandoned her claim for reinstatement.

11 In the circumstances, the Tribunal suggested that the matter be adjourned until 10:00 am. in the fore-noon of May 22, 2007,...