The High Court has struck off a claim by retired Duly Holdings Limited administrator, Theresa Ruredzo, who was demanding a Ford Everest vehicle as part of her terminal benefits, ruling that the matter belongs in the Labour Court, not the High Court.
Justice Munangati-Manongwa upheld a special plea filed by the vehicle dealer, agreeing that Ruredzo's case, though framed as a contractual dispute, was "fundamentally rooted in her former employment" and thus a labour matter.
"It is evident that the plaintiff's claim, despite its contractual framing, fundamentally relates to the employment relationship and the associated terminal benefits," ruled the judge.
"Hence, the Labour Court possesses exclusive jurisdiction to resolve such disputes."
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Ruredzo, who worked for 31 years and two months at Duly Holdings, rising from clerk typist to national administration manager, retired in November 2017. She told the court that the company failed to pay her full terminal benefits and later agreed to compensate her with a Ford Everest to be delivered within five years -- a promise she said was never fulfilled.
Her lawyer argued that the case was purely contractual since the agreement to deliver the vehicle was made after her retirement, and therefore outside the Labour Court's reach. He cited previous judgments suggesting that post-employment contracts do not qualify as labour disputes.
But Duly Holdings countered that Ruredzo's demand amounted to a claim for unpaid terminal benefits, squarely falling under labour law. The company argued that the 2013 Constitution and subsequent amendments to the Labour Act gave the Labour Court "exclusive jurisdiction" over such employment-related claims.
"The plaintiff has brought her claim before the wrong court," the defence argued, relying on a string of Supreme Court decisions affirming that even cleverly framed contractual claims cannot escape the Labour Court's authority.
Justice Priscilla Munangati-Manongwa agreed, noting that while Ruredzo tried to "repackage" her claim as a private contract, the car in question was undeniably part of her terminal benefits.
"The agreement for the delivery of the Ford Everest motor vehicle is intrinsically linked to the employment relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant," the judge said. "This brings the claim squarely within the jurisdiction of the Labour Court."
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The court upheld Duly Holdings' special plea and ordered Ruredzo to pay costs.
Ruredzo's long-running fight for her promised Ford Everest is now likely to continue before the Labour Court, the only forum legally empowered to decide whether Duly Holdings must finally deliver the vehicle.
