Gladys Mhuri
Gladys Mhuri is a Zimbabwean lawyer and a judge of the High Court having been sworn in on 13 July 2021 by Elizabeth Gwaunza.
Career
On 13 July 2021, Mhuri was sworn in as a judge of the High Court by Elizabeth Gwaunza. Her promotion came after the elevation of six High Court judges to the Supreme Court bench.[1]
Before being sworn in as a High Court judge, Gladys Mhuri was a senior judge of the Labour Court.[2][3]
Notable Rulings
3 Month Notice Dismissals
In a landmark ruling in 2017, Gladys Mhuri ruled that the Labour Amendment Act (Number 5 of 2015) applies in retrospect to cover all those who lost their jobs from July 17 2015.
Mhuri handed down the judgment in a case in which an independent arbitrator, Ms Faith Mupangani, was seeking confirmation of her decision that ordered the reinstatement of seven workers fired on notice by the National Handling Services (NHS) Private Limited.
Mhuri ordered the reinstatement of the seven NHS workers or payment of damages within 45 days of the court order.
NHS had opposed the workers’ challenge arguing that the company could not have complied with the law that was not yet in existence at the time of termination.
However, Gladys Mhuri ruled that Section 18 of the Finance Act clearly applies the law in retrospect to cover those who were fired before the Labour Amendment Act Number 5 of 2015. Mhuri ruled that the terminations constituted unlawful dismissal, hence order for reinstatement or damages in lieu of reinstatement.[4]
References
- ↑ Fidelis Munyoro, Two new high court judges sworn-in, The Herald, Published: July 13, 2021, Retrieved: July 13, 2021
- ↑ 2 lawyers sworn in as Labour Court presidents, The Herald, Published: May 23, 2012Retrieved: July 13, 2021
- ↑ LABOUR COURT JUDGES, JSC, Published: no Date Given, Retrieved: July 13, 2021
- ↑ Daniel Nemukuyu, Landmark ruling says 3-month notice dismissals unlawful, The Chronicle, Published: August 9, 2017, Retrieved: July 13, 2021
