NASSAU- A security guard accused of misconduct was unfairly dismissed because of his employer’s inadequate investigation into claims of wrongdoing, a Supreme Court judge has ruled.
Godfrey Bowe, who worked as a chief supervisor at ICS Security, the company owned by former FNM candidate Stephen Greenslade, was dismissed without notice on October 6, 2017, after more than five years of service.
Supreme Court Justice Diane Stewart found that at the time of Bowe’s dismissal there had been no fair and reasonable investigation into his alleged misconduct.
In fact, the Judge found that Bowe did not learn the details of his alleged misconduct until his trial.
Bowe supervised security staff assigned to Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation, JFK and Sandal Royal Bahamian Hotel.
On October 4, 2017, Greenslade, the company’s chief executive officer, told Bowe that he had received complaints about him.
Based on those unspecified complaints, Greenslade suspended Bowe for two days and asked him to hand over his duties to another employee.
When he returned to work, Greenslade told him that he would be reassigned to the department that dealt with debt collection with no loss of pay. Greenslade told him he would no longer work with line staff due to the number of subordinates who had quit.
However, after working a full day, Greenslade called Bowe and told him he had decided to fire him immediately.
For his part, Greenslade testified that Bowe’s alleged mistreatment of staff “was repugnant to the company’s interests.”
He asserted that if Bowe remained the company risked losing more staff and a major client.
According to Greenslade, Bowe intimidated many employees and they were afraid to report him. However, after his dismissal they “felt comfortable enough” to make complaints.
Those complaints, according to Greenslade, included mistreatment, intimidation and sexual harassment.
Greenslade said he also received reports that Bowe had workers delivering food to his pastor in the company’s car.
Bowe was also accused of leaving his post for hours to run personal errands in the company’s car.
Justice Stewart said she found Greenslade’s explanation for a lack of written complaints against Bowe “unacceptable.”
The Court ordered an award of $8,959.26 for basic pay, $1,130 in vacation pay, as well as legal costs.
