A former senior leader at a state-owned Caribbean insurance provider has secured a landmark legal victory after an industrial tribunal ruled her 2023 termination was unlawful, ordering the company to payout nearly half a million Eastern Caribbean dollars in combined compensation and damages. Janice Hodge, who previously served as the insurer’s executive manager, launched the unfair dismissal claim following her ouster, which came after the company was forced to issue a $9.8 million restatement of its official financial statements. Company leadership had pinned the financial discrepancy on errors that occurred under Hodge’s supervision, but the Industrial Court’s ruling thoroughly rejected that narrative.
In its full judgment, the court found that Hodge’s dismissal directly violated core natural justice principles. A key failing highlighted by the court was that State Insurance never clearly articulated the specific misconduct that Hodge was accused of committing, leaving the former executive without a fair opportunity to defend herself against the allegations. Beyond that, the tribunal concluded that the massive financial restatement was overwhelmingly driven by long-standing problems with outdated internal software and legacy operational systems, not any personal wrongdoing on Hodge’s part.
The court also issued sharp criticism of the company’s inconsistent application of disciplinary rules, noting that disciplinary standards were applied unevenly across staff, a practice that undermines the fairness of workplace accountability processes. In an important warning for public and state-owned entities across the region, the tribunal cautioned against making public statements that name individual employees in connection with unproven misconduct allegations before full due process has been completed. Such practices, the court emphasized, cause irreversible damage to personal reputations before an individual has the chance to clear their name.
Hodge was awarded damages across multiple categories, including pay in lieu of notice, compensation for verified financial losses stemming from her unlawful termination, exemplary damages to address the unreasonable conduct of the employer, and coverage of her full legal costs. The court granted State Insurance permission to pay the total sum in scheduled instalments, with the full payment required to be completed by June 2026.