The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has handed a decisive victory to former Antigua and Barbuda Transport Board operations manager Anderson Carty, restoring damages stripped away by the local Court of Appeal.

In a judgment delivered on 13 August, the UK-based court overturned the appellate ruling and reinstated the Industrial Court’s award of $25,000 in exemplary damages and $2,500 in costs.

Carty, who joined the Board in 2006, was fired in October 2014 while on approved vacation leave. The dismissal — announced in the media before he was formally told — was later found by the Industrial Court to be a sham redundancy, carried out in a “harsh and oppressive” manner.

The court noted he was denied access to his belongings and had part of his final payment docked to cover a loan without his consent.

The Transport Board did not challenge the unfair dismissal finding on appeal but persuaded the Court of Appeal to strike out the exemplary damages, arguing the conduct did not meet the threshold for such an award. That court also removed the costs order.

However, the Privy Council ruled the Industrial Court Act gives the Industrial Court clear authority to grant exemplary damages in cases of harsh and oppressive dismissal, without the additional legal hurdles imposed by the Court of Appeal. It further found the appellate court lacked jurisdiction to interfere with the Industrial Court’s decision on damages and costs.

With the ruling, the long-running dispute ends in Carty’s favour — and serves as a warning to employers that mishandling dismissals can have costly consequences.

See Official Judgement below:

JUDGMENT Antigua and Barbuda Transport Board (Respondent) v Anderson Carty (Appellant) (Antigua and Barbuda)