Employment Tribunal orders reinstatement of Faresmaathoda Airport staff dismissed unlawfully

The Employment Tribunal has ordered to reinstate an Administrative Officer at Faresmaathodaa Airport, operated by Regional Airports Company Limited (RACL), who was dismissed unlawfully and pay MVR 47,666.67 in compensation.

The case was filed by an individual from GDh. Fiyoaree who had been employed at the airport from March 14, 2023, until their dismissal in September 2025.

In its defense, RACL argued that the employee had been dismissed for violating the company’s attendance policy, frequently leaving the workstation during duty hours, failing to attend mandatory meetings, and submitting a forged medical certificate. The company also maintained that the employee had failed to demonstrate improvement despite being subjected to several disciplinary measures.

However, in a ruling issued last Monday, Tribunal Member Ishara Abdul Azeez determined that the dismissal was in violation of the Employment Act, finding that RACL had failed to follow both substantive and procedural fairness in terminating the employee.

According to the Tribunal’s ruling, although the employee had previously received warnings concerning attendance and the medical certificate, RACL failed to establish that the alleged misconduct had been repeated between the issuance of the final warning and the employee’s dismissal. The Tribunal emphasized that there is no legal basis to terminate an employee for a specific violation after disciplinary proceedings concerning the same offense have already been concluded.

The Tribunal further found that the employee had not been given an adequate opportunity to respond to the allegations before being dismissed and had not been provided with the legally required notice period.

As such, the Employment Tribunal ordered RACL to treat the individual as if the termination had not occurred and to reinstate them to their previous position as Administrative Officer. The company was also ordered to pay MVR 47,666.67 in compensation for lost wages, covering the period from the date of dismissal on September 3, 2025, until the individual obtained new employment at Road Development Corporation (RDC) on January 26, 2026