NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Court of Appeal has upheld a Supreme Court judge’s decision to dismiss a claim of unfair dismissal by a former Atlantis casino slots manager who had been terminated for “gross misconduct” on the job, noting that the surveillance footage spoke for itself as the infractions were “caught on camera”.
Pamela Walkine had appealed the entirety of a ruling by Justice Diane Stewart, who earlier this year had ruled in favor of Walkine’s former employer. The former casino slots manager had been terminated for gross misconduct which included incidents of sleeping on the job, taking two-hour restroom breaks, and sleeping in a guest area for 45 minutes on one occasion.
Walkine was first employed by Paradise Enterprises Limited in 1989.
The appellate court noted that it was for the trial judge – as the primary fact finder- to examine the infractions for which Walkine was dismissed and to determine whether she was satisfied that Walkine had committed a “fundamental breach of her contract of employment” or had “acted in a manner repugnant to the fundamental interests of the employer”.
“This the Judge clearly did,” the appellate court noted.
“Undoubtedly, there may be situations where a single infraction by an employee may not rise to the level of a fundamental breach of an employment contract warranting summary dismissal.
“However, this was not such a case. In this particular case, the Judge considered that (given the Appellant’s duties and responsibilities as the Respondent’s Slot Shift Manager) each act or infraction constituted a fundamental breach of her contract. What is more, as clearly appears from the Judgment, the learned Judge also felt (as did the Respondent) that all the infractions documented in the Termination Notice collectively met the statutory standard justifying the Appellant’s summary dismissal.”
The court added, “As the judge found, the Appellant’s acts were caught on surveillance footage after an investigation was requested for surveillance of the Appellant’s shifts.” The court noted that Walkine, when presented with the evidence against her at a July 4, 2016 meeting, had not only admitted to her actions, but sought to justify them.
“We completely agree with counsel for the Respondent’s submission that the CCTV surveillance footage spoke for itself. The Appellant was, quite simply, “caught on camera” and there was no need for further inquiry or investigation,” the court ruled.
“What is more, given the Appellant’s refusal to view the footage coupled with the fact that she admitted her actions and sought to justify them and further apologized, it is impossible to fault the learned Judge’s final conclusions that the investigation had been fair and reasonable and the Appellant’s dismissal, consequently, not unfair.”
According to court documents, the company terminated her for allegedly violating multiple policies between June 23 and 27, 2016.
She was also accused of sleeping in a guest area — Dragons nightclub — for 45 minutes on one occasion, though Walkine claimed the area was closed to guests at the time and was dimly lit. She denied resting on the casino floor or in open view, but said the shift was often grueling and the only rest area for the graveyard shift, 2am to 10am, was located in the basement nearly 10 minutes away.
Walkine also contended that the five days that were complained about could not compare to the nearly 30 years of satisfactory and dedicated employment. She said the bathroom breaks were the result of a medical challenge, though she did not disclose further.
