BY SAM ALFAN.
A judge has upheld the sacking of a former chief executive officer of Fairview Hotel who was summarily sacked in 2017.
Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge James Rika dismissed case filed by former CEO Mohsine Korich whose contract was terminated in the year 2017.
Judge Rika said Korich was not able to fault Fairview Hotel, was unable to fit in, with the corporate culture of the hotel.
“He did not fit in, with those above him, and those below him. He insulted them all, and showed respect to none,” the judge said.
The former CEO had worked for the hotel for a total of 27 years, seven of them as the CEO and was earning a monthly salary of Sh1.5 million.
“The Claimant appears to have an underlying medical condition, which made him short-tempered, and ultimately, incompatible with his colleagues, both senior and junior,” the judge said.
The court further said Korich was reasonably accommodated and taken through counselling, but in the end, he remained unmanageable.
Korich had challenged his firing and a disciplinary proceedings against him but which he failed to attend even after being rescheduled on three occasions.
Among the complaints against Korich is that he did not respect the General Manager, would address the staff inappropriately and brought disrepute to the management team.
“The Claimant seems to the Court, to have conceded wrongdoing. In his response to the letter to show cause, he states that he felt angry and disappointed because the General Manager failed to ask him details of what had transpired the evening before. He alleged that he reacted to these feelings. He was sorry, that the General Manager felt intimidated,” says the court decision.
He did not deny being invited by the General Manager to discuss complaints against him but told the General Manager that he was not going to attend any meeting, and that the General Manager would have to wait, until the Board was present to discuss the issues.
“If you want to fire me, please go ahead, but I am not coming to any meetings anymore,” a message sent to the general manager and tabled in court showed.
Other than complains from the general manager, there were others from those subordinate to him at the kitchen, including the kitchen administrator, a chef and other staff who were allegedly subjected to cruelty by the former CEO.
The court noted that the former CEO took the position from the inception, that the assistant general manager Ross Thomson, was a young South African expatriate, not suitable to serve as second in command, in a labour market where there were better qualified indigenous Kenyans.
He did not therefore submit himself to the GM and when for example, he was invited to a meeting on October 9, 2017, to discuss work issues, he declined saying there was nothing to discuss, and when Thomson insisted on having a conversation, he was met with insults.
