Court overturns bank dismissal of manager over COVID-19 targets
The court declared that Sanyu was unfairly and unlawfully dismissed and ordered PostBank to pay him sh25.9m in severance, sh25.3m in general damages and sh10m in aggravated damages.
Court overturns bank dismissal of manager over COVID-19 targets
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The Industrial Court has overturned PostBank Uganda Ltd’s dismissal of its former Kabale branch manager, Dickson Sanyu, after finding that the bank unfairly subjected him to unrealistic performance targets during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The court found that although PostBank followed the required procedure before dismissing Sanyu for poor performance, the dismissal was substantively unfair because the bank had increased his performance targets fourfold, failed to provide adequate support, and did not take into account his COVID-19 illness and the lockdown restrictions.
Justice Anthony Wabwire Musana, sitting with panellists Adrine Namara, Susan Nabirye and Michael Matovu, made the finding in an award dated September 14, 2026, in Labour Dispute Reference No. 115 of 2022.
The court declared that Sanyu was unfairly and unlawfully dismissed and ordered PostBank to pay him sh25.9m in severance, sh25.3m in general damages and sh10m in aggravated damages.
The total monetary award amounts to about sh61.3m, excluding costs.
The court also ordered PostBank to restore the interest rate on Sanyu’s outstanding staff personal loan from the commercial rate of 16% to the preferential staff rate of 10% per annum.
Sanyu had sued PostBank, challenging his dismissal and the increase in interest on his staff loan.
He joined the bank on September 17, 2015, as a business growth manager on permanent and pensionable terms and was later appointed branch manager of the Kabale branch on December 21, 2020.
According to court records, Sanyu’s monthly salary had risen to sh4.22m.
Court documents indicate that the bank placed Sanyu on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) after finding his performance unsatisfactory in the first quarter of 2021.
The court agreed with him on the substantive fairness of the dismissal.
Justice Musana noted that PostBank’s own records showed that Sanyu had been rated 3B in 2020, a rating which the bank’s performance guidelines described as being on normal progress and reward.
The court also found that the bank’s 2021 targets were issued in February, despite its internal policy requiring performance targets to be set in the first week of January.
Court records show that during the PIP period, Sanyu’s loan sales target was increased from Sh1.36b to sh1.991b.
The court found that there was no evidence that the increased targets had been mutually agreed upon with Sanyu.
“The process of target setting was not fair,” the court held.
The court also considered the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on Sanyu’s performance.
It noted that the second quarter of 2021 coincided with severe COVID-19 lockdown measures and Bank of Uganda credit restrictions.
According to court documents, Sanyu also tested positive for COVID-19 on June 10, 2021, while undergoing the PIP review.
The court further found that there was no evidence that PostBank provided Sanyu with training, mentorship, coaching or other support during the PIP.
It said this was contrary to the bank’s Human Resource Policy Manual, which required the employer to provide necessary tools, equipment, skills, adequate manpower or coaching to help an employee attain PIP targets.
The court found that PostBank had complied with the requirements for a disciplinary hearing.
“Sanyu was invited in writing on July 28, 2021, to attend a hearing on August 6, 2021. He was given seven days to prepare his defence and was informed of his right to be accompanied by a person of his choice,” the court stated.
However, the court said procedural compliance was not enough because the bank had failed to establish a fair and reasonable substantive basis for the dismissal.
The court therefore declared the dismissal unlawful.
Sanyu had also sought recovery of sh72.34m outstanding on his loan, but the court declined to order PostBank to take over the loan.
The court found that the loan was secured credit backed by a mortgage and was not a salary loan.
However, it ruled that PostBank was not entitled to increase the interest rate from the preferential staff rate of 10% to 16% after Sanyu lost his job.
The court said the upward adjustment was legally untenable and ordered the rate to revert to 10%.
PostBank was also ordered to pay the costs of the claim.