Six years after the Employment Rights Tribunal (ERT) determined that she was wrongfully dismissed by the National Assistance Board (NAB), 12 years ago, Sherada Walters is still waiting to be paid the $13 575.74 which she was awarded.
While the NAB has filed an appeal, Walters has been left in limbo. A hearing was conducted before the Court of Appeal in 2021 but since then two of the court’s judges who heard the case have retired and one has died.
Walters, 47, a former relief home helper at the NAB from 2007, was dismissed in 2014 after she refused to sign an employment contract which changed her work days from five to three, a period she had worked during five years of her tenure at the NAB.
She took the matter to the ERT in 2014, but it was never heard until 2019.
After the hearing then chairman Christopher Blackman, quoting Section 13 of the Employment Rights Act which provides that an employer shall give to an employee a written statement of the particulars of the employment, found that the NAB had failed to comply with the requirements of that section, adding that the government agency acted “as though it was totally oblivious of the Act.”
The ERT then found that the dismissal was unfair.
A dismayed Walters said: “Presently, I am extremely disappointed and hurt at the length of time that it has taken for this matter to come to its final conclusion. This matter has been ongoing since my dismissal in 2014, and the final decision by the court was handed down July 25, 2019. There was a judgement order in place for me to be paid on or before December 31, 2019.
“I feel that it is wrong and unfair that after the court gave its decisions, up to now I have not received one single red cent from the National Assistance Board.”
She said the first appeal hearing was in 2021 before former Chief Justice Sir Patterson Cheltenham and Justice Rajendra Narine who both retired in 2024 and Justice Jefferson Cumberbatch who has since passed away.
The NAB appealed the Tribunal’s decision on the grounds that the Tribunal erred in law as it failed to properly interpret or apply Section 26 of the Employment Rights Act; that it acted in breach of the principles of natural justice in that it rendered a decision at the conclusion of the evidence without hearing the parties or their representative, among others.
The Board is seeking an order setting aside the decision of the ERT.
When contacted, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, who has responsibility for the NAB, said he was only made aware of the situation when contacted for a response. He later said, “I was advised this case is still very active before the Barbados Court of Appeal awaiting a decision and we will await the judgement. From the facts you have shared with me it seems the situation started in 2014, and I hope it can be resolved now, in the interests of the affected parties.”
Walters, who works part-time, said she has been in mental anguish over the years awaiting a conclusion to the matter.
“I feel disgusted by this. I worked hard for the NAB and I gave my best and I felt it was unfair the way they dismissed me. I am also disgusted because this is Government and Government set up the Employment Rights Tribunal to protect workers. So how is it that Government makes the law and does not abide by the law? I do not feel pleased about it.”
A legal official told the Nation the NAB could have paid Walters the money awarded but it was in their right to appeal the matter. However, he said if the Court of Appeal rules in Walters’ favour, the NAB might have to pay significantly more money in interest given the vintage nature of the case.
He also advised that despite the passing of one of the tripartite judges, the judgement could still be delivered by Sir Patterson.
