Mauritius Airports to pay Siven Chellen approximately $20 million in damages

Siven Chellen, who was suspended as head of Mauritius Airports Ltd in 2022 for serious misconduct, returned to management of Jet Prime Ltd, a subsidiary of Airports Holdings Ltd, last month. AML challenged the Employment Rights Tribunal’s compensation decision in the Supreme Court but lost.

The situation is particularly unusual because despite his re-entry as a director at the head of an Airports Holdings Limited subsidiary, Mauritius Airports Limited (AML) is still contesting Mauritius Airports’ decision.Employment Rights Tribunal (ERT) to pay him severance pay, even though Siven Chellen had only sought his reinstatement. AML sought a judicial review of the ERT’s decision, but a judgement by Justices Shameem Hamuth Laulloo and Prameeta Goordyal Chittao on Monday dismissed its plea. The judges concluded that the review petition was without merit, confirming that AML was obliged to pay compensation to Siven Chellen under the provisions of the Workers’ Rights Act (WRA). The severance pay could be around Rs 2 crore.

Although Siven Chellen has been reinstated in a management position at the AHL subsidiary, the legal battle over his severance package is not over yet and AML will still have to compensate him unless it manages to reach an agreement with him.

AML will not be able to challenge the ERT’s decision of September 27, 2023, in favor of Siven Chellen, through judicial review. In fact, AML requested the Supreme Court to order the reversal of this decision on the grounds that the court exceeded its powers by issuing severance pay that Siven Chellen had not requested and did not comply with the statutory deadlines for disciplinary proceedings.

Siven Chellen, then deputy general manager of the company, was suspended on 7 September 2022. After learning of the allegations against him, he was summoned by the Disciplinary Committee on 5 and 7 October 2022. A hearing was held on the incident which took place in November 2022 and the Disciplinary Committee’s report was submitted on 13 December 2022, concluding that all allegations were proven. Siven Chellen was dismissed on 14 December 2022 for gross misconduct and breach of trust after he approved an agreement for a 12.4% pay rise for 800 employees of AML and Airport Terminal Operations Limited (ATOL). Siven Chellen’s part of the appointment was not approved by Ken Arian, chairman of Airports Holdings Limited (AHL). The AML board met and subsequently took the decision to appoint new management. This we learnt after Ken Arian was furious over negotiations with the Mauritius Airports Limited Employees Union (AMLEU) that were concluded during his absence.

After being fired, Siven Chellen filed a complaint with the Ministry of Labour on December 16, 2022, seeking reinstatement under Section 69A of the WRA 2019. The court awarded severance pay, while Siven Chellen only sought reinstatement. Defendant ERT and co-defendant Siven Chellen opposed AML’s action, arguing that the application for judicial review was not on solid grounds. They also argued that the company’s application for judicial review was actually a disguised attempt to appeal the court’s decision.

Justices Hamuth-Laulloo and Goordyal-Chittoo noted that the ERT did not find a breach of the statutory 60-day time limit under section 64(11)(b) of the WRA as it was not part of the case before them. They noted that the ERT concluded that Siven Chellen responded to the allegations at an oral hearing that ended on 23 November 2022, while the dismissal letter dated 14 December 2022 clearly exceeded the seven-day time limit set by the WRA. The judges stressed that the purpose of judicial review is to review the legality of decisions and the process by which decisions are made, not to act as an appellate court.

Despite past controversies, the decision to appoint Siven Chellen to Jet Prime Ltd has triggered strong reactions and shocked many. This verdict has added a new dimension to the controversy. Not only has he been reappointed as the head of the AHL subsidiary and is being paid a director’s salary, but AML will also have to pay him a severance package of around Rs 2 crore.