Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A former Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) executive has threatened to sue the State utility for wrongful dismissal.
Arlene Johnson Lawrence made the threat in a pre-action protocol letter sent by her attorney Richard Jaggasar to WASA’s chairman Ravi Nanga, SC, on Tuesday.
In the correspondence obtained by Guardian Media, Jaggasar claimed that the authority acted unlawfully when it dismissed or failed to renew Lawrence’s contract in January.
Jaggasar claimed that on August 14, 2019, Lawrence signed a two-year contract to become the authority’s head of procurement.
When the contract ended in 2021, she was asked to remain in the post and was granted nine consecutive three-month extensions.
On January 17, WASA’s acting human resource director Alicia Brathwaite-Sammy wrote to her informing her that her last contract had ended on December 31, last year.
Brathwaite-Sammy also indicated that her engagement would conclude on January 18 and she would receive salary and benefits up to that date.
Jaggasar pointed out that Lawrence’s initial contract and her subsequent extensions were silent on termination with or without a notice period.
He took issue with the communication Lawrence received and questioned why she was required to perform duties three weeks past the purported end of the contract period.
“Secondly, in the event this period between the alleged conclusion of the contract and January 18, 2024, is meant to be a notice period, that is wholly unreasonable and untenable,” he said.
Jaggasar suggested that based on his client’s five year working relationship with the authority, she was entitled to a two year renewal as he cited several legal precedents on “continuity of employment”, which he claimed applied.
“This doctrine suggests that if an employer has repeatedly renewed an employee’s fixed-term contract, the employee may develop a legitimate expectation of continued employment,” he said.
“If an employer then abruptly decides not to renew the contract without sufficient cause, it could be considered unfair or constructive dismissal,” he added.
He claimed that Lawrence’s former position was not advertised along with other vacancies in the authority, last year.
Jaggasar claimed that Lawrence is entitled to $1,336,781.72 in compensation, which represents the salary, allowances and performance bonuses she would have received had she been given a new two year contract.
He also claimed that she would be claiming an additional $275,000 in exemplary damages for the authority’s conduct in relation to her.
WASA was given 14 days in which to respond to the legal threat before Lawrence files a lawsuit over the issue.