High Court backs reinstatement of sacked Conrad Rangali staff

The posts of the dismissed workers were made redundant “due to the partial closure of its guest rooms for renovation and lower occupancies,” Conrad Rangali had insisted at the time, but the tribunal ruled in February 2012 that the staff must be reinstated and compensated for lost pay and allowances.

Ruling on the appeal by Crown Company, the local operator of the resort, the High Court said Wednesday temporary suspension of services by a business was not valid grounds for announcing redundancies, noting that the closure of resort rooms for renovation was normal.

The resort also had options such as offering paid or unpaid leave for the five-month renovation period after reaching a mutual agreement with the staff, the judges added, deeming the dismissals to lack “substantive fairness.”