Justice Nweneka Dismisses Ikoyi Club’s Defence Of COVID-19 Salary Deductions, Cites Lack Of Evidence

The Court ordered the Ikoyi Club to pay Mr Adekola the sum of N337,247 [three hundred and thirty-seven thousand, two hundred and forty-seven naira] being the balance of his monthly salary; N101,003.85 [one hundred and one thousand, three naira, eighty-five kobo] being his pro-rated leave allowance for April, May, and June 2020.

Justice Nweneka further ordered the Ikoyi Club to pay Mr Adekola’s Stanbic IBTC Retirement Savings Account the balance of his pension contributions of N17,717.66, N17,837.98, and N13,211.32 for April, May, and June 2020 respectively and the sum of N200,000.00 [two hundred thousand naira] cost of action.

From facts, the claimant- Mr Adekola had submitted that his appointment was confirmed on 1st December 2018, that he assisted his senior with his duties as the Head of the Committee Secretariat and still performed his duties when his then senior was preparing for and after his retirement which Ikoyi Club acknowledged.

Mr Adekola claimed an acting allowance and the balance of his salary for April, May, and June 2020, leave allowance, and contributory pension. He maintained that Ikoyi Club did not inform him about the reason for the reduction and that Ikoyi Club’s unilateral decision to pay him a reduction in salary is a breach of his contract of employment, and International Labour Organization Protection of Wages Convention, and an unfair labour practice.

In defence, the Defendant- Incorporated Trustees of Ikoyi Club argued that Mr Adekola failed to produce a written notification per the senior staff handbook, a prerequisite for acting in a higher capacity, and maintained that Mr Adekola is not entitled to any acting allowance or the salary scale of the Head, Committee Secretariat and all ancillary claims.

Counsel also explained the attempts at settlement on the balance of salary for April, May, and June 2020 were rejected by Mr Adekola, and submitted that the N330,046.38 paid to Mr Adekola represents his terminal benefits and he is not entitled to the declaratory and ancillary reliefs sought.

Counsel argued that Ikoyi Club’s decision to reduce the staff salary instead of terminating their employment on account of the COVID-19 pandemic aligns with fair labour practice, and urged the Court to dismiss the suit.

In opposition, Mr Adekola posited that Ikoyi Club’s unilateral decision to pay him N330,046.38 as the full and final settlement of his terminal benefits contravened the Protection of Wages Convention and unfair labour practice, and urged the court to grant the reliefs sought.

Delivering judgment after careful evaluation of the submission of both parties, the Presiding Judge, Justice Gerald Nweneka held that Mr Adekola who seeks declaratory relief must establish her entitlement to the declaration by credible evidence and will succeed on the strength of her case, not on the weakness of the defence or admission by the Defendant.

Justice Nweneka held that Mr Adekola has not established his claim that he acted as the Head of the Committee Secretariat and consequently is not entitled to any acting allowance.

On the Ikoyi Club’s defence of deduction of salary due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court held that Ikoyi Club’s assertion that staff were notified of the deduction by an internal memo was untenable as the said internal memo was not produced in evidence, and there is no evidence that Mr Adekola received the memo.

Justice Nweneka maintained that there is no general right to make deductions from an employee’s salary except as provided by law.