A complaint filed by a Cayman resident who waited more than six months to have his employer’s appeal heard before the Labour Appeals Tribunal has led to the discovery of nearly a dozen such cases that have been delayed outside statutory timelines, according to Ombudsman Sandy Hermiston.
In a press release, the Ombudsman stated that 11 appeals cases had been delayed beyond the three-month timeline set in the Labour Law for the hearing of such matters.
The delays ranged from a couple of months to almost two years in some cases.
Hermiston discovered the delays as part of a maladministration investigation conducted into the tribunal, with the assistance of the Department of Labour and Pensions.
The Ombudsman determined the tribunal’s actions in not hearing the matters within statutory timelines amounted to maladministration, defined as ineffective or inefficient management of public affairs.
“To delay justice is an injustice,” said Hermiston. “It is simply not fair to make workers or companies wait so long for a hearing. It defeats the original purpose of the tribunal. On a positive note, the LAT and DLP have agreed with our findings and have pledged to resolve the situation forthwith.”
The Labour Appeals Tribunal and the Department of Labour and Pensions and have suggested holding appeals hearings via Zoom or other virtual-meeting technologies, making it easier to assemble the parties involved. The first such virtual appeal hearing was conducted on Friday, 5 June, according to the release.
The Ombudsman has also recommended that the tribunal “be staffed properly to ensure such a backlog in hearing cases does not occur again”.
DLP Director Bennard Ebanks said in the release, “The Labour Appeals Tribunal operates independently of the DLP in order to hear the appeals of anyone aggrieved by the decisions of the Labour Tribunals. The staffing challenges identified by the Ombudsman will be addressed, as DLP will now be directly involved in measures to ensure the LAT is staffed properly to address the backlog in hearings.
“I value the input of all of our stakeholders in order to make the DLP, and independent Tribunals system better, and is an example of the complaints procedures, and subsequent investigation resulting in recommended changes for improvement.”
Hermiston said, “This type of cooperation from the DLP and LAT with our investigations is appreciated and will only help improve public administration in Cayman. The goal of our office is to promote good governance. This is rarely accomplished by simply identifying problems or mistakes without making positive and constructive recommendations which entities then act upon.”
To file a complaint with the Ombudsman, call 946-6283 or email [email protected].
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