The Abuja Division of the National Industrial Court has ordered Union Bank of Nigeria to pay the sum of N1,000,000 to Ngozi Ogbonna as compensation for an ailment she suffered while working in the bank.
Justice Olufunke Anuwe who presided over the case found the bank guilty of exposing its employee to harmful working conditions that resulted in her health degradation.
The claimant, Ngozi Ogbonna, was diagnosed with acute bronchitis in 2020 during her employment in the bank.
She claimed that the ailment resulted from her daily exposure to germs and dust while carrying out her schedule of duties which included manual handling of cash and sorting cash for ATM in 2019.
Ogbonna alleged that Union Bank failed to provide her with personal protective equipment that could have prevented the ailment and was also negligent with the medical report that advised that she should be kept away from the work environment that worsened her health condition despite her follow-up mails.
According to her, the bank’s negligence to her health condition amounts to constructive dismissal.
she claimed to have resigned because she suffered from the ailment as a result of the failure of the bank to provide her with personal protective equipment.
The defendant, Union Bank of Nigeria, refuted Ogbonna’s claim stating that her resignation was voluntary and not a fault of the bank.
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The bank alleged that she was not forced to keep her employment after realising that she could not meet her work demands.
The bank iterated its commitment to providing a safe working environment and engaging in best practices and safety measures.
It argued that Ngozi’s ailment resulted from other causes other than her role in the bank.
The bank produced a witness who during cross-examination, said it was not his duty to confirm that dehumidifiers and nose masks were available in the bank’s branches.
After listening to both parties, the Presiding Judge, Justice Olufunke Anuwe upheld Ogbonna’s claim after finding that she had a clean bill of health and was not suffering from the ailment at the time she was employed.
Court`s decision
Consequently, The Judge declared that Ogbonna’s ailment resulted from the poor working conditions that her daily schedule of duty as at 2019 exposed her to.
The judge said “the Defendant did not adduce evidence to dislodge the Claimant’s evidence that she was not provided PPE by the Defendant. The consequence is that the Claimant has proved that the Defendant did not provide her with PPE in her task of handling cash on a daily basis.”
The Court therefore declared that Union Bank of Nigeria acted negligently for failure to provide Ngozi Ogbonna with personal protective equipment and a safe working environment in the course of her employment which exposed her to an adverse medical condition that severely impacted her health.
The court ordered the bank to pay her the Aksum of N1,000,000.00 as compensation for the ailment suffered while in the bank’s employment.
Stella Adeniyi
