Plaintiff sued both defendants severally and jointly for Shs.9,000,000/= salary arrears as well as general damages for breach of contract of employment.
At scheduling the parties agreed that the plaintiff was engaged to erect rig towers in Uganda and did erect some rig towers. Plaintiff was also issued with Identity Card: exhibit P1 by the first defendant. Some remuneration was also paid to the plaintiff.
The issues framed for determination by court were:-
- Whether or not the plaintiff was in the employment of the defendants.
- If so, whether or not plaintiff was fully paid his remuneration, and,
- Whether or not plaintiff is entitled to any damages.
Court defined a contract of employment as an agreement between the employer and employee giving rise to obligations between employer and the employee which are enforceable or recognizable by the law. Such a contract, like other contracts, may be inferred and implied from the conduct of the parties concerned.
this court preferred to believe the evidence of the plaintiff, and found that of the defendants, suspect and unreliable on the issue whether or not the plaintiff was in the employment of the defendants.
Court found as established by the plaintiff, on a balance of probabilities, that the second defendant, as part and parcel of the first defendant, recruited the plaintiff, and thereafter both defendants jointly and/or severally employed the plaintiff as their employee from 01 March 2000 to 30 November 2001.
The answer to the first issue is that the plaintiff was in the employment of the defendants as a monthly salaried employee from 01 March 2000 to 30 November 2001.
The evidence of plaintiff, which court accepted as truthful, was that his monthly salary was shs.450,000/= and that though he worked for the defendants from01 March 2000 to 30 November 2001, he was only paid for two months. The period 01 March 2000 to 30 November 2001, is twenty (20) Calendar months. Since the plaintiff admits that he was paid for two months, it follows therefore that he was not paid for eighteen months of this period, shs.(450,000 x 18) = 8,100,000/=.
Court therefore answered the second issue by holding that, on the basis of the evidence adduced, plaintiff, had established on a balance of probabilities, that he was not paid arrears of salary of shs.8,100,000/=.
