Fellow Wazuans, Im writing to you as I have been an ardent follower of some good discussions follower and have seen that great advice has been given here. I have discussed the issue with a lawyer but im not satisfied with his response as i believe somewhere i can get justice. Now, the issue pertains Multi-national Operating here in East Africa.
Below, i will write in point form, just for ease of grasping all quick:
*In march 2008, i was employed by the said company here in Kenya.
*In April 2010, i was appointed to a different position in Tanzania. I have been working in the said position since may 15th 2010.
MY ISSUES ARE NOW BASED ON THIS POSITION THAT I WAS APPOINTED TO IN APRIL 2010
*After the appointment, i was not able to report as a work permanent permit had not yet been processed.
*By may 10th, the permit was still not out yet and despite this i reported for duty using the temporary permit.(This temporary permit usually lasts for 2months. It is not renewable. After 2months, one has to exit the country)
* On reporting to my new position, i worked for 2months and still the permanent permit was not yet ready. I thus exited the country and re-entered again with a newly acquired temporary permit.
* My exit and entry on the temporary permit was now the norm and i ended up using this for the time that i have been working there.(16months)
* Towards the end of August, since my temporary permit was expiring, i requested to leave the country as usual and the re-enter but my supervisor then denied me the chance. He said that he had consulted with an immigration officer who was supposed to renew the said permit for me. I was then supposed to take my passport to him, specifically on the day that the temporary permit was expiring, for him to authorise/ arrange for an extension. However, on taking this to him, he was not able to renew by the close of business on the given day. I had asked for a short break so as to attend to some matters back home so the immigration officer told me that he would extend my permit by one day so as to facilitate my exit.
* Based on the fact that the same officer was not able to get me the extension as adviced by my supervisor, i drafted a letter to my supervisor, human resource manager and country manager informing them that i was not willing to risk being in the country without a legit working permit as i was a permanent and pensionable employee of the company. I let them know that i was only willing to resume my duties after the legit working permit was availed.
* I left tz and returned to my home country.
* While in my home country, we exchanged some communication with my supervisor and human resource manager. Eventually, the human resource manager wrote a mail saying that management was considering disciplinary action as i was absenteeing myself from work.
* I replied telling her that I was not but on the contrary lacked a legit work permit to enable me to work.
* After 3wks, she replied with a letter of termination indicating no reason for termination besides the clause of one month notice for termination as is on my contract. The letter further said i would only been given one month`s pay , pay for pending leave day`s and transportation back home.
NOW, MY EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT HAS A CLAUSE THAT SAYS ‘’ This contract can be terminated by either party giving one month written notice’’.
FURTHER, THE COMPANY HAS AN EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK THAT CONTAINS COMPANY POLICIES WHICH OUTLINES THE REASONS AS TO WHY THE EMPLOYER WOULD TERMINATE ONE`S EMPLOYMENT. IT SAYS THAT UPON TERMINATION, THE EMPLOYER HAS TO GIVE THE EMPLOYEE A REASON FOR THE SAME.The reasons indicated are: nonperformance, redundancy, misconduct and lack of compatibility. Non of this have been the case and neither have i had a disciplinary case before. Infact, one of my appraisals has comments of me being a ‘’high potential’’ employee.
*My attempts to request for reasons informing the termination have fallen on deaf ears. The HR responds by telling me to refer to the clause on termination. I have also made sure i put the country manager, regional head as well as the vice president of the groups HR services but still nothing is forthcoming.
*Now, im jobless, i have a child of 14months and i believe i deserve better than this.
I have consulted with a lawyer but he says that with the clause, i cannot sue for WRONGFUL DISMISSAL. However, i believe the company has not been fair at all to me.
Pls advice if i have a case on this, even if by petition. I will provide all details including all communicae if and when needed.

Regards

MAITU: I feel your pain.I have been in an almost similar situation at one time.While you navigate through the problem legally,your main concern right now should be to secure another job/or a way of earning income as fast as possible.

@ Ali Baba: Thanks for ur concern.im actually ok and now involved in a biz that my husband+i have been running.Thank God for the fall back plan.that said,i still believe that somehow i can get some justice on this.they should not do this to anybody

Afternoon Wazuans. Now,i visited the FIDA Offices this morn and got attended to.they too feel i have a case.they will start by writing my former employer an intervention letter to c if they will budge.i get the letter in 1wks time.if they dont respond,then we sue.unfair dismissal will be the way to go then.nice pm all!

I like the bit of having a back up plan. In some very interesting cases, the back up plan overtakes the original plan. Why do I feel like the job loss is a blessing in disguise??

@Marty:my husband indeed terms this as a blessing in disguise.he had been on my case to resign and assist in the family biz but being "an educated maitu and gradually rising in the corporate ladder regionally" i could not

@acelriskconsult:NOPE.has a global brand name with a prescence in over 160countries worldwide

Yes,agreeing to work in TZ was not easy.moreso i was going 2 assit with the set up of a new office.we started out 2 of us(acting branch manager+me).now they have more than 15guys in less than 2yrs with a NIS of atleast 750K Usd/monthly!anyhow,getting a permanent workn permit esp for a kenyan is a nightmare.but i had other kenyan colleagues who had theirs already

Maitu...any updates? Or you let it rest?

@maitu, though u may have an arguable case, um not sure if the headache, time and good money to lawyers is worth it. The courts may take forever... this could be the best thing that ever happened though initially life may be bolts and nuts. if u can move on ... if u got ATTITUDE u can achieve double or more, u just never know.