Case No.: 235541
Date: June 5, 2023 (Ginbot 28, 2015 E.C.)
Legal Rule/Interpretation:
Where it has been established that an employer’s termination of an employment contract was unlawful and a decision has been rendered for the reinstatement of the employee, it is improper and restrictive of the employee’s rights to decide against reinstatement based on a transfer letter issued by a higher administrative body. The decision of the Federal High Court in this regard contains a fundamental error of law.
Reasoning:
Since it was the Respondent (the Monastery) that hired the Applicant and terminated the employment contract, the obligation to reinstate the employee rests solely upon the Respondent.
The Respondent cannot transfer an employee, whose contract it terminated, to another cathedral via a higher body (the Diocese) without first reinstating the employee.
Notwithstanding the dispute over the transfer letter, even if the transfer were valid and legal, it should only be administratively effective after the Respondent has first reinstated the Applicant to their position.
The “Asko Debre Gebriel St. Gabriel Cathedral,” where the transfer was purportedly directed, was not a party to the litigation. Given that the Applicant remained in litigation for a long duration, the Federal High Court’s reversal of the lower court’s decision—based on the transfer letter—deprives the Applicant of their rights and absolves the employer (the Respondent) of its legal obligations.