Fenaka ordered to respond to claim over failure to reinstate employee post-election

The Employment Tribunal has ordered Fenaka Corporation to submit a response in a case involving its failure to reinstate an employee who was suspended for contesting in the local council elections, effectively dismissing a procedural objection raised by the company.

The case was filed by Ahmed Shafeeq (Sappe), the Deputy Manager of Fenaka’s Gaafu Alif Dhevvadhoo Branch, who was placed under temporary suspension after running for the presidency of the Dhevvadhoo Council on the opposition MDP ticket. The legal challenge arose when the corporation failed to reinstate him following the conclusion of the election.

Despite losing the election to PNC candidate Abdulla Shafiu, the claimant’s formal request to return to his duties was met with silence from Fenaka. Subsequently, Shafeeq sought the Tribunal’s intervention to secure his reinstatement and the recovery of unpaid wages and benefits.

In its defense, Fenaka raised a procedural objection, asserting that the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter. The company argued that the three-month statutory period for filing wrongful dismissal claims under the Employment Act had already elapsed.

However, the Employment Tribunal ruled that the matter does not constitute a dismissal case. Instead, it was categorized as a dispute stemming from the failure to reinstate an employee once the grounds for temporary suspension no longer existed. The Tribunal determined that such disputes are subject to the six-month filing window prescribed in the Tribunal’s regulations, concluding that the claim was submitted within the valid timeframe.

Rejecting Fenaka's request to dismiss the case, the Tribunal has now mandated that the corporation respond to the merits of the claim.