Former General Manager of the National Communications Network (NCN) Enrico Woolford has filed a lawsuit against the state-owned media entity which he says owes him in excess of $7M gratuity payment over the last three years.
According to him, in accordance with the terms of his employment contract, the Company also owes him accrued payment for vacation allowance and annual vacation leave.
He pegs the total owed to him at $7,796,688 and is asking the court to also order NCN to pay him interest, court costs and to make any further order it deems fit.
In his fixed date application, Woolford, (the Applicant) said that he served as NCN’s general manager from April 1st, 2018 to July 31st, 2020 when both him and the (Respondent) Company opted not to have his contract renewed.
He said that it was, however, a term of his contract that he would be entitled to the payment of vacation allowance, annual /vacation leave and gratuity and once each was not paid when they became due, that they must be paid as accrued.
In his affidavit of January 8th, seen by this newspaper, Woolford said that during his employment, he was unable to exhaust all of his contractual benefits and that at the date of effective termination he became entitled to the accrued benefits.
He said he has accrued vacation allowance for the period January 1st, 2019 to July 31st, 2020 and accrued 2018/2019 annual/vacation leave of 18 days. He said he also has accrued 2019 annual/vacation leave of 30 days and 15 days for last year.
Meanwhile, he said that his accrued gratuity is for the first 12 days of April 2018, July 1st to December 31st of the same year, all of 2019 and again from January 1st, to July 31st of last year—altogether amounting to a total of $7,796,688.
According to Woolford, despite repeated promises to pay in installments which should have commenced on September 30th of last year, he has not yet received a penny of his benefits from NCN.
Through his attorney Eusi Anderson, Woolford said that he is entitled by contract and law to his benefits and ought to have been paid at the date of termination, while arguing that there is no excuse in law for the Company’s repeated failure to pay.
He is of the view, too, that the Company has no defence to his action.
Woolford said that NCN’s refusal to honour its contractual obligations has caused him loss, suffering, hardship and “resulted in me being unable to seize opportunities.”
