Former City of Windhoek executive Fillemon Hambuda is in the High Court fighting for his final payout from his former employer.

Hambuda is seeking a court order that will set aside an arbitrator’s ruling of 18 March last year. In that ruling, the arbitrator dismissed his case in which he wanted to force the City of Windhoek to pay him N$261 063.30 when he decided to terminate his working relationship with the municipality. 

According to the arbitrator, whether Hambuda went on early retirement or he resigned, he was bound to the terms of his contract which required him to give his employer a three-month notice. Failure to do so, the city is obliged to invoke a clause in his employment contract which stipulates “…the employee shall pay the employer an amount which is equal to the remuneration which the employer would have been required to pay the employee had he the employee terminated the contract with the notice”.

Court documents indicate that Hambuda on 8 October 2020 completed a notice of early retirement in which he indicated that his last day at work would be 30 November 2020. In his notice, he indicated that due to November 2020 elections where he might be elected into office, he wanted to avoid a situation where he had to resign instantly.

His notice was signed on 18 October 2020 by the CEO.

As a result of his notice, the city deducted N$261 263.30 from his salary claiming that it is equivalent to the three months he was supposed to have given notice for.

Hambuda has been a full-time employee at the City of Windhoek since 1997. In 2017, his contract was converted into a fixed-term contract of three years and five months when he became a strategic executive for economic development and community services. 

His contract was ending on 31 December 2020.

In his suit, Hambuda claims that the arbitrator erred when it ruled in favour of his former employer by dismissing his claim on the basis that he failed to give a three-month notice upon terminating his contract.

“They did not take into consideration that I no longer was obliged to tender such three months’ notice due to the approval of my early retirement,” said Hambuda.

In response to his suit, the city is in agreement with the arbitrator that Hambuda should have complied with the terms of his contract.

The city claims although the terms “resignation” and “early retirement” have different meanings, they have the same effect as they both terminate the employment relationship between the employee and employer. 

“The applicant (Hambuda) does not deny that he failed to give the requisite notice. It is, therefore, to be accepted that the applicant violated the employment contract which entitled the respondent (city) to avail itself of any lawful remedy available to it,” said Moses Ikanga, City of Windhoek’s lawyer.

Thus, the city took the option of making the deduction as a result of the breach. 

Judge Eileen Rakow will give judgement on 4 April.

- mamakali@nepc.com.na