- One of the employees entered the cockpit and switched on the hydraulic pumps which caused fluid to hit his eyes, making him blind.
- Instead of employer compensating Were, they opted to terminate his services under the guise of restructuring.
Image: FILE
An employee who suffered permanent eye damage due to an accident during a pre-flight inspection of an aircraft in Mogadishu and got sacked afterwards has been awarded Sh6.7 million compensation.
Employment court judge Onesmus Makau held that the sacking of Abdenego Were was unfair because the employer did not notify labour offices of intended redundancy.
Were was hired by East African Safaris Air Express as an engineer and rose through the ranks to become production control manager. He used to earn Sh420,560 as gross salary as at November 2012.
All was well until one day in 2018 while conducting routine pre-flight inspection of an aircraft. One of the employees entered the cockpit and switched on the hydraulic pumps which caused fluid to hit his eyes. Both eyes were permanently damaged.
Instead of employer compensating him, they opted to terminate his services under the guise of restructuring.
Were was told he would be paid one month's salary in lieu of notice plus outstanding leave.
Were claimed that from January 2018, a third of his salary was withheld by the employer and asked the court to compel the company to pay that too.
He further contended that the statutory deductions made by the employer from his salary towards NSSF, NHIF and PAYE was never remitted and now Kenya Revenue Authority was demanding the same from him.
The company through its manager George Kivindyo said Were was employed as an avionic engineer on May 4, 2004 until August 11, 2009 when he voluntarily resigned. Ever since the company engaged him verbally as a consultant.
Were was an independent consultant and the company deducted withholding tax from his pay but left him with the obligation to pay his taxes to KRA, he said.
The company said it had no legal obligation to pay NHIF and NSSF for the man. The company also raised questions on the payslip he produced in court, saying it was a forgery because it lacked a signature and date.
It said the accident that occurred in Mogadishu was as a result of his own negligence and not due to any third party.
The firm explained that in 2018 Were’s age was 78 and his sight was failing due to the injury, which led to a decision to stop his consultancy because the nature of his work needed good vision and steady nerves for safety of aircrafts and passengers.
Consequently, a mutual agreement was entered with Were for his termination, the court was told.
However, the judge noted that the company did not prove that Were was an independent contract as claimed.
Edited by Henry Makori