The National Industrial Court, Abuja, on Thursday ordered the Abuja Clinics (Nig.) LTDto pay its dismissed staff, Grace Nwajiaku her entitlements and also declared her dismissal as wrongful.

Nwajiaku’s entitlements as ordered by the court include her one month basic salary, 21 days she worked in the month of her dismissal, leave grant, transportation bonus, 23 days she worked while on leave and nine years gratuity.

The claimant had approached the court to seek redress when she was dismissed based on gross misconduct and her entitlements withheld by the defendant.

In delivering her judgment, Justice Rakiya Haastrup, declared that the claimant’s dismissal was wrongful.

Haastrup further said “where an employer gives reason for terminating an employee’s employment,the law imposes on him also a duty to establish the reason to the satisfaction of the court.

” The defendant has failed to establish to the satisfaction of this court his reason of gross misconduct to warrant the claimant’s dismissal.

“The dismissal is therefore in the circumstance unsubstantiated and also wrongful,” she said.

The judge, therefore, ordered the defendant to compute and pay the claimant her one month basic salary.

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She further ordered payment of 21 days she worked in the month of her dismissal, leave grant, transportation bonus, 23 days she worked while on leave and nine years gratuity.

The judge also awarded N100, 000 in favour of the claimant as cost of prosecuting the suit.

Haastrup said the judgment must be complied with within 30 days after which the judgment sum shall attract 10 per cent interest per annum.

The Counsel to the claimant, G. Iherijika, had told the court that his client was employed by the hospital in 2005 as a Laboratory Scientist and rose to the position of the head of laboratory department until she was unceremoniously dismissed on July 21,2015.

Ihejiriki said that the claimant sought, got approval and followed set down procedures and directive before she took the action that got her dismissed.

John Okpor, the defence counsel in his submission, however said the claimant had an habitual disregard of the hospital’s policies, rules and protocols.

Okpor averred that it was one of such acts of insubordination that got her dismissed, that instead of using a particular form to make a request, she used a wrong one, thereby acting in breach of protocol and laid procedures of the defendant.

According to the counsel, this was what earned her the justifiable dismissal.(NAN)