by Rachel Ogbu

Former employees of Zenith Bank go on the offensive against the company over non-payment of their severance benefits claiming the calculation of the package after the sack was also wrong.

A former Assistant General Manager with Zenith Bank, Agege branch, Obiaku Okam, had documents that revealed how packages were calculated with a detailed account of her severance benefits.

“There were so many deductions made from my severance package. So much so that the amount left was ridiculous.

“For instance, as an AGM I had an official Prado jeep. I never asked the bank for the jeep but they went ahead to deduct the cost of the Jeep from the severance package.

“Not only that, they deducted the balance of my dressing and housing allowances, which are usually paid at the beginning of the year, from the same package,” Okam said.

According to reports, a copy of the disengagement letter revealed the cost of the Prado jeep to be N9, 056, 250, while another N2, 071, 000 and N294,000 were deducted for housing and dressing allowance respectively.

“I worked 14 years in that bank. The manner I was sacked is not right. If I had a pre-existing heart condition, when I got the email that night, I could have died from shock. They didn’t bother to even discuss the terms of our disengagement with us.

“Instead, a Prado jeep which I didn’t ask for was forced on me. Now that my housing allowance has been taken away, am I expected to retrieve my house rent from my landlord? If I had also bought clothes at the beginning of the year, am I expected to now return them because my dressing allowance was taken from my benefits?” Okam said.

Another employee of the bank Niyi Lasisi said Zenith bank did not follow the terms in the company handbook as relating to the severance benefits of staff. A handbook obtained by PUNCH Metro revealed that an AGM of Zenith bank, who is to be disengaged, is entitled to two months’ notice, which if not given, will be paid in lieu.

The bank’s redundancy policy also stated, “Employees over five years of service were entitled to six weeks pay for each year of service. Before any employee is declared redundant, there shall be consultation between the bank and the staff concerned.”

According to reports, about 200 persons were sacked on April 25, 2012 after the close of work but only 24 of them hired the a lawyer who filed a suit at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Lagos.

“Not much has happened since the case was filed in November 2012. There were some documents the bank ought to have filed in response to our suit but they didn’t do so on time.

“In fact, our lawyer was a given a copy of their response in court on February 13. So the case was adjourned again to May,” Okam was reported to have said.

The Punch reports:

A copy of the statement of facts made available to PUNCH Metro said, “Prior to their said disengagement by the defendant, the claimants were not given any notice of disengagement nor were they paid salary in lieu of notice as required by their aforesaid conditions of service and policy of the defendant.

“It was clearly stated that the claimants’ disengagement from the defendant’s bank was a result of the bank’s decision to carry out an unspecified restructuring of the bank.

“Most of the claimants worked for the defendant for over a period of 20, years and very few of them who spent the least number of years, worked for an upward of five years before their unlawful termination from the services of the bank.”

There was no response from Zenith Bank’s Corporate Communications Specialist, Mr. Akin Olaniyan as repeated calls to his phone went unanswered.

He also did not reply the text messages sent to his telephone.

PUNCH Metro also made efforts to reach Zenith Bank’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Victor Adoji, who neither returned the calls to his phone nor replied text messages sent to him.