Oberem vs Nyirenda

This case involved a dispute between Axel Oberem and John Nyirenda regarding the employment status and minimum wage compliance of Nyirenda, a Malawian worker employed by Oberem on St Helena.

TLDR:

• Nyirenda claimed he was employed by Oberem and entitled to St Helena's minimum wage.
• Oberem argued Nyirenda was on a training program and employed in Malawi.
• The court found in favor of Nyirenda, ruling he was an employee and entitled to the minimum wage.

The claimant, John Nyirenda, was employed by Axel Oberem in Malawi and later brought to St Helena to work on Oberem's farm. Nyirenda claimed he was entitled to St Helena's minimum wage, while Oberem argued that Nyirenda was on a training program and employed under Malawian law.

The court examined the nature of Nyirenda's work on St Helena, which included general labor and specialist electrical repair work. The court found that Nyirenda worked 51 hours per week, which constituted employment rather than training.

The court ruled that the Employment Rights Ordinance 2010 applied to all employee-employer relationships on St Helena, regardless of where the contract was made. It determined that Nyirenda was an employee under the Ordinance and entitled to the minimum wage.

Oberem's argument that Nyirenda's work was substantially undertaken outside St Helena was rejected. The court found no error in the Labour Regulating Authority's (LRA) decision that Nyirenda's work was not substantially outside St Helena.

The court also addressed the computation of Nyirenda's hourly rate. It excluded payments for expenses, rest periods, and bonuses from the minimum wage calculation, relying only on the basic salary and accommodation allowance.

The court concluded that the LRA did not err in law in its decision and upheld the LRA's findings. The appeal was dismissed, and the minimum wage legislation was deemed applicable to Nyirenda's work on St Helena.

The court also noted the potential for coercive working relationships on the island and recommended that the Governor in Council consider adopting elements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 into St Helena law.