Benue State University, Makurdi

Determination of Contract of Employment by Redundancy, Resignation and Retirement: An Appraisal

Prof. E.A. Kenen

Abstract

There are various ways by which a contract of employment may be brought to an end, three of which are: redundancy, resignation and retirement. These three modes of the determination of contract of employment are the primary concerns of this paper. The three concerns have different legal connotations. The paper has employed doctrinal methodology in critically examining these modes of determination of contract of employment and made certain findings with regard to each of them. Some of these findings and recommendations are as stated hereunder: With regards to redundancy, the right to declare redundancy by an employer is controlled and restricted by the Labour Act which amongst others requires the employer to inform the trade union of the reasons for and the extent of the anticipated redundancy. Even though the courts have construed the provision as being otiose as no sanction is provided for its breach, it is recommended that in line with the spirit and express provision of the Act, the provision should be construed as being mandatory. With regards to resignation, the finding is that the employee has an absolute right to resign and the employer has no discretion to refuse to accept the notice of resignation. The effective date of resignation is the date the employer receives the employee’s letter of resignation and once the letter is received, resignation becomes effective and the employee cannot withdraw unless there is a waiver of the right on the part of the employer. Resignation with immediate effect bestows on an employee the right to leave service automatically and immediately without benefits while in resignation with notice, it is recommended that since it takes effect on the expiration of the notice, the employee should be entitled to benefits. In retirement, there is absolute right to retire and no discretion to refuse to accept notice of retirement by an employer even where the employee is being investigated. In an unlawful/wrongful retirement, the current trend is that the court can now order for the payment of salary up to the retirement

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