CIVIL SERVICE IN NIGERIA

ATTENTION:

BEFORE YOU READ THE ABSTRACT OR CHAPTER ONE OF THE PROJECT TOPIC BELOW, PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW.THANK YOU!

INFORMATION:

YOU CAN GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT OF THE TOPIC BELOW. THE FULL PROJECT COSTS N5,000 ONLY. THE FULL INFORMATION ON HOW TO PAY AND GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE. OR YOU CAN CALL: 08068231953, 08168759420

WHATSAPP US ON 08137701720

CIVIL SERVICE IN NIGERIA

SECTION ONE: PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF CIVIL SERVICE IN NIGERIA

1.1 WHAT IS THE CIVIL SERVICE AND WHY IS IT NECESSARY?

The Civil Service is a body or organ which enjoys continuity of existence. Civil Service Commands a pool of experience and know-how for implementing government policies. A Civil Servant is required to assist in formulating and implementing the Policies approved by Government irrespective of his or her personal or private opinions or attitude on the issue. The Civil Service is indispensable, irrespective of the type of regime, whether military or civilian.

1.2 RECRUITMENT IN THE CIVIL SERVICE

Recruitment of Federal Civil Servants is vested on the Federal Civil Service Commission whose establishment is provided for, in the constitution. The Federal Civil Service Commission has no power for the appointments that are the exclusive responsibility of the Head of Service or other Arms/Functionaries of Government. e.g. A Judge of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and any officer in the Nigeria police force, Principal Representative of the Republic of Nigeria Overseas such as Ambassadors and High Commissioners. From time to time, the Federal Civil Service Commissioner delegates the authority in respect of appointments, promotions and discipline of specified staff to Minister/Extra-Ministerial Department.

The Civil Service Commission can delegate some of its power to Ministerial-Extra Ministerial Departments. To be eligible for appointment into the Federal Civil Service, every applicant must: Not be less than 18 years and not more than 50 years of age. Possess such minimum qualification as may be specified from time to time including computer literacy. Be certified by an authorized Health Care provider as medically fit for Government service; and Possess a testimonial of good conduct from last employer or if not previously employed from the last school or college attended; and Possess requisite qualifications as provided for in the Scheme of Service. No Officer shall be appointed into Civil Service without authorization for appointment from the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and Supervisory Board in the case of parastatals.

RULES FOR APPOINTMENT ON PROBATION

Officers on probation will be required to serve for two years before being confirmed in the service. This period may be reduced to not less than six months by deduction of any previous period of Civil Service rendered satisfactorily in post of cognate status involving similar duties. The period of probation shall not exceed two years unless an extension is approved by the Federal Civil Commission.

RULES FOR APPOINTMENT ON CONTRACT

A contract appointment is a temporary appointment (which does not provide for the payment of a pension) to a post or the level to which appointment is made by the Federal Civil Service Commission for a period.

TRANSFERS AND SECONDMENTS

Transfer: Is the permanent release of an Officer from one scheduled service to another or from one class to another.

Secondment: means the temporary release of an officer to the service of another Government, approved body or any recognized international organization or body for a specified period.

Senior post: Transfer from one senior post to another or from one class to another within the Federal Public Service require the prior approval of the Federal Civil Service Commission and an officer must have served for a minimum period of 6 months in his original Department before seeking transfer to another Department.

Junior Post: Transfer from one junior post to another within the Federal Public Service from one Department to another may be arranged, with the consent of officers being considered for transfer, at the mutual-discretion of their Permanent Secretaries/Head of Extra-Ministerial Office.

PROMOTIONS: The Minimum number of years that an officer must spend in a post before being considered eligible for promotion shall be as follows:

Grade Level of staff Number of years in post

01 – 06 Minimum of 2 years

07 – 14 Minimum of 3 years

15 – 17 Minimum of 4 years

Promotions shall be made strictly on the basis of competitive merit from amongst all eligible candidates.

GL. 06 and below by the Ministry/Extra Ministerial Office

GL. 07 – 14 by the Ministry/Extra Ministerial Office or the relevant staff pool subject to confirmation by Federal Civil Service Commission.

Ministerial Office or the relevant pool routed through the Head of the Civil Service.

1.3 CODE OF ETHICS IN CIVIL SERVICE

There is, therefore, a need for enhancing the image and the future of the service and in doing this the following points should be borne in mind:

Discipline: The Civil Service must be well disciplined. Rules and regulations should be adhered to and the interests of the Service must be paramount.

Senior Officers should prescribe codes of conduct which they themselves can and should comply with. Those who wish to lead other people should always remember that effective leadership involved exemplary character, hard work and transparent integrity. Junior Officers should be familiar with Government Regulations and rules regarding good conduct. They must learn to obey lawful orders and established authority.

Loyalty: Civil Servants should be loyal to the Government which has given the opportunity to service it.

Honesty: Civil Servants should be honest in doing their duties and in their dealings with the public. They should realize that they are paid salaries for the duties which they perform.

Courage: Courage is one of the greatest assets to the best civil Servants.

Courtesy: It costs nothing to be polite to your colleague and the general public served by you. Polite instructions are usually more easily obeyed. Members of public always cherish courtesy and consideration from Civil Servants.

Cooperation: All the staff in the section of a Ministry should cooperate as a team in order to realize the overall purpose of the section. The Officers and staff of a Ministry should work together to attain the goals of the Ministry.

Tact: Tact means skillfulness in handling a difficult situation without being offended to the people involved. That is very necessary in the service.

Industry: In this sense, industry means useful hard work. You have been engaged to serve your Ministry or Department in some way. In turn your Ministry or department serves the Government and Members of the Publics.

Tidiness: Civil Servants should keep their offices tidy not only because visiting members of the public served by them are thereby more favorably impressed but also because an orderly office gives an idea of the state of minds of its staff. Workers should also ensure that they are properly dressed to do their duty in the office or work place. It is a good idea to dress in a business – like manner, not as if one were going to a formal party or beauty queen parade.

Helpfulness: You may have heard many people alleged that it is now difficult for people to get help from those they do not know.

Kindness: Being kind does not imply that you should give to people what they are not entitled to. Kindness involved respecting the privileges and rights of officers, employees and members of the public; irrespective of the fact that those concerned are unknown to you.

Attitude to public funds:

• Do not waste funds. If you are frugal in spending your money, you should be equally frugal in spending public fund.

• Collectors of Government Revenue should be conscientious in doing their duty. They should not make any rebates as a favour to anyone. In this regard, it is not kindness to reduce the revenue due to Government on your own account or at your own level. Justify every expenditure and ensure that economy is insisted upon, e.g. `discourage wasting public funds on ill-advised purchases near the end of the financial year.

• As a good citizen and a good civil servant, discourage financial abuses by making suitable reports through the correct channel.

• Made-in-Nigeria goods should be preferred to imported counterparts.

National Consciousness/patriotism: The ideas held by people influence their actions. Therefore, Civil Servants should aim at inspiring, any good idea without being unrealistic. One Nigeria is by far and always superior to any town or clan or ethnic group in the Federation. Therefore the interest of any group should not be pursued at the expense of what is best for Nigeria.

A Good Image of the Service: The Government of the Federation is the largest employers of labour. The Civil Services, therefore, have a leading role to play in the social and economic affairs of the country.

Efficiency: The level of efficiency can be improved upon. Training-consciousness will help in this regards. In the national interest, training institution in the federal service should be open to Civil Servants in the State. As a matter of policy, staff may attend training courses in the states. It would be extremely rewarding if the training of some Federal and State personnel could be held jointly to promote a community of experience of such trainees. The amenities provided by Governments should be equitably distributed among the people without reference to political parties, ethnic and religious groups. As Civil Servants are paid from various taxes collected from the people, government servants should help to ensure that;

• Equal opportunity for employment is provided for all job seekers

• Under no circumstance should bribes and gift be taken from applicants for jobs. Interviews for employment should always be conducted by a duly constituted panel. It should never be left in the hands of a single person. Proper record should be kept of the interview for future reference.

• Nepotism or any other form of preferential treatment should be avoided.

• In the service, privileges should be granted only those who are qualified for them.

• Civil Servants should never dispense private or personal favour with public fund and property.

• Justice and fair play should be extended to all concerned

• Ensure that public business is always discharged in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations of government and with expedition.

• Discourage discriminatory practices to individuals and groups

• All irregularities reported should be investigated and corrective action promptly taken.

1.4 REFORMS AND REVIEW IN THE CIVIL SERVICE

The Federal Civil Service has undergone some reforms and reviews. Despite all these well meaning efforts, by the late 1980s, the Nigeria Civil Service was far from being ideal. It was tradition-bound, somewhat ponderous and showing signs of deterioration and several undesirable characteristics of which the following were the most prominent: over centralization, incessant conflicts between cadres, little emphasis on result and concrete performance, counter-productive, separation of authority from responsibility at the topmost hierarchy, dangerously low staff morale and productivity, inappropriate staff development practices. Indeed at that point in time the civil Service was displaying a patent inability to cope effectively with the challenges of modem, complex and development-hungry society.

Little wonder then that the Government in 1988, through the Civil Service Re-organization Decree No. 43, Instituted Civil Service Reforms. The Reforms were designed to ensure the following; enhanced professionalism, alignment with the presidential system of government, decentralization and delegation, combination of authority with responsibility, enhanced accountability, enhanced checks and balances, general modernization, enhanced effectiveness, efficiency and speed of operation.

The Office of the Heads of Civil Service was abolished; the Minister, in addition to being the Chief Executive also becomes the Accountability Officer in place of the Permanent Secretary; the post of Permanent Secretary was also abolished. In its place, a new political post of Director General was created. The Director-General then held office at the pleasure of the President, and would vacate office with the Government which appointed him unless re-appointed by an incoming administration. The Civil Service was professionalized in order to stimulate specialization and expertise. In this regard, an officer was expected to make a career in a particular Ministry or Department. Each Ministry was restructured along departmental lines to reflect the basic functions and areas of concern of the Ministry, each department was sub-divided into Divisions, each Division was sub-divided into Branches, and Branches were sub-divided into sections. Each Ministry or Extra-Ministerial Department was allowed to have three common services departments, viz department of personnel Management, Department of Finance and Supplies and Department of Planning, Research and Statistics and not more than five operations department.

However, it later became clear that the Civil Service Reforms had some limitations. There was inadequate knowledge about the provisions of the Reforms on the part of some Civil Servants and top Government Functionaries. There was absence of strong commitment on the part of top Government functionaries to the implementation of the reforms partly as a result of misconception that full implementation will erode their powers. There was also the problem of human resistance to change and fear of the unknown on the part of many Civil Servants. It was, therefore, not surprising that Government decided to set up a Civil Service Review Panel, popularly known as the Arida Review Panel which recommended the abrogation of the Civil Service Re-organization Decree No. 43 of 1988. It also recommended a return to what the Civil service was before the introduction of the reforms, it should however, be noted that some parts of the reforms have survived.

1.5 EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT

INTRODUCTION

Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee is “A person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, where the employer has the power or right to control and direct the employee in the material details of how the work is to be performed.” An employee contributes labour and expertise to an endeavor of an employer and is usually hired to perform specific duties which are packaged into a job. In most modern economies, the term “employee” refers to a specific defined relationship between an individual and a corporation, which differs from those of customer or client. Contract of employment” means any agreement, whether oral or written, express or implied, whereby one person agrees to employ another as a worker and that other person agrees to serve the employer as a worker; “Employer” means any person who has entered into a contract of employment to employ any other person as a worker either for himself or for the service of any other person, and includes the agent, manager or factor of that first – mentioned person and the personal representatives of a deceased employer.

EMPLOYER-WORKER RELATIONSHIP

An employer’s level of power over its workers is dependent upon numerous factors, the most influential being the nature of the contractual relationship between the two. This relationship is affected by three significant factors: interests, control, and motivation. It is generally considered the employers’ responsibility to manage and balance these factors in a way that enables a harmonious and productive working relationship. There are different types of employment. (a) Test employment (b) Time limited employment and (c) Normal employment, which has no time limit (except for retirement etc.) It can still be ended by personal reason, crime, lack of work tasks, etc.

CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

It is a category of contract used in labour law to attribute right and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. The main object of labour law has been, and will always be a countervailing force to counteract the inequality of bargaining power which is inherent and must be inherent in the employment relationship. A contract of employment usually defined to mean the same as a “contract of service”. A contract of service has historically been distinguished from a “contract for services”, the expression altered to imply the dividing line between a person who is “employed” and someone who is “self employed”. The purpose of the dividing line is to attribute rights to some kind of people who work for others. This could be the right to a minimum wage, holiday pay, sick leave, fair dismissal, a written statement of the contract, the right to organize a union, and so on. The assumption is that self employed people should be able to look after their own affairs and therefore, the work they do for others should not carry with it an obligation to look after these rights. Employment contracts are written agreements that detail the workplace duties and responsibilities of the employee and the compensation that the employer provides in return. Employment contracts typically lay out the wages, bonuses, vacations, medical leaves (including maternity), stock options, and other benefits and compensation that the worker receives for fulfilling his/her obligations to the employer. These obligations are also specified in the contract, as is the duration of the worker-employee arrangement, the authority of the employee, ownership of intellectual property, and dispute resolution mechanisms. They also include termination provisions, and they may also include post-employment confidentiality, non-compete, and non-solicitation clauses. Section 7 (1) of Labour Act: No later than three months after the beginning of a worker’s period of employment with an employer, the employer shall give to the worker a written statement specifying the name of the employer or group of employers, and where appropriate, of the undertaking by which the worker is employed; the name and address of the worker and the place and date of his engagement, the nature of the employment; if the contract is for a fixed term, the date when the contract expires; the appropriate period of notice to be given by the party wising to terminate the contract, due regard being had to section 11 of this Act; the rates of wages and method of calculation thereof and the manner and periodicity of payment of wages; any terms and conditions relating to hours of work, or holidays and holiday pay, or incapacity for work due to sickness or injury, including any provisions for sick pay; and any special conditions of the contract.

If after the date to which the said statement relates there is a change in the terms to be included or referred to in the statement of the employer – shall, not more than one month after the change, inform the worker of the nature of the change by a written statement; and if he does not leave a copy of the statement with the worker, shall preserve the statement and ensure that the worker has reasonable opportunities of reading it in the course of his employment, or that it is made reasonably accessible to the worker in some other way. A statement under subsection (1) or (2) of this section may, for all or any of the particulars to be given by the statement, refer the worker to some other document which the worker has reasonable opportunities of reading in the course of his employment or which is made reasonably accessible to the worker some other way. If the employer, in referring in the said statement to any such document, indicates to the worker that future changes in the terms particularized in the document will be entered in the document (or recorded by some other means for the information of persons referred to in the document), the employer need not under subsection (2) of this section inform the worker of any such change which is duly entered or recorded not more than one month after the change is made.

DRAFTING EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT:

Business owners who are considering introducing employment contracts into their operation should consider the following: Employment contract that are imposed unilaterally, rather than by genuine mutual agreement between worker and employer, are at substantial risks in the courts. If the employee is found to have entered into the contracts under duress, the agreement will be struck down. Employment contracts are an effective means of mitigating the risk of business damage at the hands of ex-employees. Consider collaborating with the employee in order to create a comprehensive contract. Determine whether termination of the contract is “at will,” (i.e. either the employer or the employee can end it at any time), or “for cause,” (that the agreement between the parties can be terminated only if the employee is found to have committed a legal offence or other stipulated act of dishonesty, fraud, etc.). Consultants typically urge businesses to make certain that the language of the contract conveys at “at-will” message throughout, thus avoiding legal potential entanglements that can arise if the arrangement is seen as a permanent job. Examine the regulatory/legal environment; make sure that the employment contract adheres to pertinent laws before you introduce such agreements. Use employment contracts only for legitimate business relationships. Compensation for services rendered should be reasonable and should be distributed only when they are in fact completed. Employment contracts are not “one-size-fits-all.” Severance arrangements should be reviewed on a regular basis to determine their suitability for inclusion in employment contracts. Dispute resolution mechanisms are often incorporated into them.

WORK FOR HIRE

A “work made for hire” is—- a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or – a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as contribution to a collective work. The determination of whether an individual is an employee for the purposes of the work made for hire doctrine is determined under the common law in which a court looks to a multitude of factors to determine whether an employer-employee relationship exists. In determining whether a hired party is an employee, we consider the hiring party’s right to control the manner and means by which the product is accomplished. Other factors relevant to this inquiry are: the skill required; the source of the instrumentalities or tools; the location of the work; the duration of the relationship between the parties; whether the hiring party has the right to assign additional projects to the hired party; the extent of the hired party’s discretion over when and how long to work; the method of payment; the hired party’s role in hiring and paying assistants; whether the hiring party is in business; the provision of employee benefits; etc.

JOB DESCRIPTION

A job description is a list that a person might use for general tasks or functions, and responsibilities of a position. It may often include to whom the position reports, specifications such as the qualifications or skills needed by the person in the job, or a salary range. A job description is usually developed by conducting a job analysis, which includes examining the tasks and sequences of tasks necessary to perform the job. The analysis considers the areas of knowledge and skills needed for the job. The job description might be broadened to form a person specification or may be known as Terms of Reference. A job description may include relationship with other people in the organization: Supervisory level, managerial requirements, and relationship with other colleagues.

A job description needs not be limited to explaining the current situation, or work that is currently expected; it may also set out goals for what might be achieved in future. Prescriptive job descriptions may be seen as a hindrance in certain circumstances. Through technology, the workplace is changing, and identified basic skills that employees must have to be able to change with it: General skills (Learning to learn & Foundation Skills), Basic skills competence (reading, writing, or computational standards), Communication skills – Oral & Listening, Problem-solving & Creative thinking, Self-esteem, Motivation/goal setting, Employability/career development, Group effectiveness and Interpersonal, Negotiation and teamwork, influence, organizational and leadership. Person specification is an extension of the job description that profile the type of person needed to do a job. Elements include attainments, specialized skills, interests, personality, etc.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND AGREEMENT: Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions. It consists negotiations between representatives of a union and employers (generally represented by management,) in respect of the terms and conditions of employment of employees, such as wages, hours of work, working conditions, training, health and safety, overtime, etc. The rights to procedures and responsibilities of trade unions. A collective agreement functions as a (group) labour contract between an employer and one or more unions. “Collective bargaining” is the process of arriving or attempting to arrive at a collective agreement.

EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK

Employees are expected to act in a professional manner at all times and to treat co-workers and members of the public with respect and dignity. These work rules are fundamental standards of conduct for all employees. They do not supersede any applicable collective bargaining obligations. A violation of these work rules may result in disciplinary action. Employee handbook contains these rules including references to and/or dress code, confidentiality policy statement, code of ethics, drug free workplace policy, etc. Employee Handbook is more than a rule book; it gives the opportunity to communicate the company’s mission and culture together with setting expectations. It contains a roadmap to assist in business decisions which impact employees.

1.6 EVIDENCE AND FACT PROVING

INTRODUCTION

Evidence is information that may be presented to persuade the court/enquiry panel of the probability of the truth of some fact asserted in the case, i.e. information by which facts tend to be proved or disproved. Examples of facts that may need to be proved are: the identity of the defendant; that the defendant is an employer; that an employee was ‘at work’ at the time of incident say when he/she was injured. The elements of an offence will appear as items on the evidence matrix that is submitted to the Approval Officer as part of the prosecution report. A trial is a fact-finding exercise and, with its verdict, the panel makes a decision as to whether all elements of the offence have been proved. There are rules that govern the conduct of these rules of evidence and of procedures.

EVIDENCE: Evidence is that which demonstrates, makes clear, or ascertains the truth of the very fact or point in issue. Evidence may be considered with reference to the nature of the evidence, the object of the evidence, the instruments of evidence and the effect of evidence, the object of evidence is next to be considered; It is to ascertain the truth between the parties. It has been discovered by experience that this is done most certainly by the adoption of the following rules, which are now binding as law: The evidence must be confined to the point in issue. The substance of the issue must be proved. The affirmative of the issue must be proved.

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE: The proof of facts which usually attend other facts sought to be, proved; that which is not direct evidence. The facts are directly attested, but they only prove circumstances. This is of two kinds, namely, certain and uncertain.

CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE: That which, while un-contradicted, satisfies the judge and jury. It is also that which cannot be contradicted. The record of a court of common law jurisdiction is conclusive as to the facts therein stated.

DIRECT EVIDENCE: Applies immediately to the “fadum probandum”, without any intervening process.

EXTRINSIC EVIDENCE: External evidence, or that which is not contained in the body of an agreement, contract, and the like. It is a general rule that extrinsic evidence cannot be admitted to contradict, explain, vary or change the terms of a contract or of a will, except in a latent ambiguity, or to rebut a resulting trust.

NATURE OF EVIDENCE: As to its nature, evidence may be considered with reference to its being Primary evidence, Secondary evidence, Positive, Presumptive, Hearsay and Admissions. It is a rule that the best evidence, or that proof which most certainly exhibits the true state of facts to which it relates, shall be required, and the law rejects secondary or inferior evidence, when it is attempted to be substituted for evidence of a higher or superior nature. When primary evidence cannot be had, then secondary evidence will be admitted, because then it is the best.

FORMS OF EVIDENCE: Witnesses, Expert Witnesses, Hearsay, Authentication and Identification, Polygraph Tests, Voice Stress Tests, etc. The Best-Evidence Rule, Judicial Notice. Some matters that are relevant to a trial are so obvious that it will not require evidence to prove them – for example, that it is dark outside at midnight, or that April 30, 1995, fell on a Sunday. Past Bad Acts

WITNESSES: Credibility depends on whether the witness accurately perceived what he or she described; whether the witness retained an accurate memory of that perception; and whether the witness’s narration accurately conveys that perception. In order to be allowed to testify, the witness generally must take an oath, must be personally present at the trial, and must be subjected to cross-examination. These conditions promote the factors that lend themselves to the witness’s credibility. Witnesses must only give evidence of facts observed by them, and not evidence of their opinion (i.e. evidence of inferences drawn from those facts). However, witnesses may give evidence of opinion as a means of conveying relevant facts observed by that witness. For example, an assertion that a person was drunk may be a convenient way of describing what the witness saw, heard or smelt which led him or her to form that opinion. The proceeding will allow such statements as long as no special expertise is necessary.

EXPERT WITNESSES: “If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the Trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise”

HEARSAY: Hearsay is a statement, made out of court, offered in court to prove the truth of the matter asserted. The statement may be oral or written, or it may be non-verbal conduct intended as an assertion, such as pointing to a crime suspect in a police line-up. The act of pointing in response to a request for identification is the same as stating, “He did it.” Not all non-verbal conduct is intended as an assertion, of course. Sometimes, statements made out of proceedings are not hearsay because they are not offered for the purpose of proving the truth of the matter asserted. The general rule is that any statement, other than one made by a witness while giving evidence in the proceedings, is inadmissible as evidence of the facts stated; there is otherwise an opportunity to test whether the person that made the original statement is telling the truth.

AUTHENTICATION AND IDENTIFICATION: Evidence is not relevant unless its authenticity can be demonstrated. A letter in which the defendant admits her guilt in a tax-fraud trial is inadmissible unless the prosecution at first show that the defendant actually wrote it. Objects that are not readily identifiable often must be authenticated through chain-of-command testimony.

THE BEST-EVIDENCE RULE: The Best-evidence rule is a misleading name for the preference for original writings, recordings, and photographs over copies, when the contents are sought to be proved. The purpose of this rule at common law was to avoid the potential for inaccuracies contained in handmade copies.

PAST BAD ACTS: Evidence of past bad acts by a criminal defendant is not admissible to prove that the defendant is a bad person and therefore committed the crime charged. Evidence of past bad acts will, however, be admitted for other purposes such as; -to show motive, -intent, -preparation, -plan, -knowledge, -identity, or -absence of a mistake or accident.

THE BURDEN OF PROOF: The burden of proof is the obligation to shift the accepted conclusion away from an oppositional opinion to one’s own position. The burden of proving the guilt of the defendant lies on the prosecution, who must prove the particulars of the offence beyond reasonable doubt. In conflict resolution, a key question for consideration is which party has the obligation (‘the burden’) to prove particular facts in issue. The burden of proof is often associated with the Latin Maxim “semper necessitas probandi incumbit ei qui agit,” the best translation of which seems to be: “the necessity of proof always lies with the person who lays charges.” He who does not carry the burden of proof carries the benefit of assumption, meaning he needs on evidence to support his claim. Fulfilling the burden of proof effectively captures the benefit of assumption, passing the burden of proof off to another party. When the burden of proof is on the defendant to establish a particular issue, it is often referred to as a ‘reverse burden’, because it reverses the normal situation in which the prosecution must prove the facts beyond reasonable doubt. The incidence of burden of proof is affected by common law, statute and procedure.

PRESUMPTION: A presumption is where a ‘trial’ treats a fact as having been proved, notwithstanding that no (or insufficient) evidence has been presented to establish it. A presumption can help the prosecution to prove a particular fact by requiring the defense to disprove it. For example, it will be presumed as a matter of law that: a properly addressed and posted letter, not returned, has reached its destination; and a person acting in an office was properly appointed. These facts will be ‘presumed’ unless the defense presents sufficient evidence to the contrary to rebut the presumption.

STANDARD OF PROOF: The “standard of proof” is the level of proof required in an action to discharge the burden of proof that is to convince the panel that a given proposition is true. The degree of proof required depends on the circumstances of the proposition. Beyond a reasonable doubt -the highest level of proof, used mainly in criminal trials. Clear and convincing evidence -an intermediate level of poof, used mainly in civil trials. Preponderance of evidence -the lowest level of proof, used mainly in civil trials; typically means more likely than not.

RELEVANT AND ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE: Evidence may be proved by: -calling witnesses (witness evidence); producing documents (documentary evidence); producing things (real evidence). In considering the evidence needed to ensure a conviction, you should be concerned with: Relevance; if it logically goes to proving or disproving some fact at issue. Admissibility; if it relates to the facts in issue, or to circumstances that make those facts probable or improbable, and has been properly obtained. Weight; reliance that can properly be placed on it.

DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE: Documentary evidence is any evidence introduced at a trial in the form of documents. Although document is most widely understood to mean writings on paper (such as an invoice, a contract), the term actually include any media by which information can be preserved. Photographs, tape recordings, films, and printed emails are all forms of documentary evidence. Evidence contained in or on documents can be a form of real evidence. For example, a contract offered to prove the terms it contains is both documentary and real evidence. When a party offers a document into evidence, the party must authenticate it the same way as any other real evidence, either by a witness who can identify the document or by witnesses who can establish a chain of custody for the document.

PAYROLL EVIDENCE: Oral testimony given by a witness; verbal confirmation, verbal explanation of facts admitted at trial, verbal proof, verbal proof of facts. Also called oral evidence. Payroll Evidence Rule prohibits the introduction of any oral or written agreement that contradicts the final written agreement. For example, an insurance contract containing clauses and provisions is in writing, and as such this contract cannot be contradicted or modified by any oral statements or agreements that are admissible. When parties put their agreement in writing, all previous oral agreements merge into the written agreement. The written agreement cannot be contradicted by oral testimony, unless there was a mistake or fraud. The payroll evidence rule does not apply to written integrated contracts in some instances such as clerical or typographical errors found in the written agreement.

They may be changed because the incorrect term does not represent the true agreement between the parties. Some exceptions to the payroll evidence rule: Extrinsic evidence can always be admitted for the following purposes: To aid in the interpretation of existing terms. To show that in light of all the circumstances surrounding the making of the contract, the contract is actually ambiguous, thus necessitating the use of extrinsic evidence to determine its actual meaning. To resolve an ambiguity in the contract. To disprove the validity of the contract. To correct mistakes. To show wrongful conduct such as misrepresentation, fraud, duress, unconscious ability or illegal purpose on the part of one or both parties. To show that consideration has not actually been paid. To identify the parties, especially if the parties have changed names. To imply or incorporate a term of the contract.

1.7 TERMINATION AND DISMISSAL OF EMPLOYMENT

Contract of Employment: A contract of employment usually defined to mean a person who enters into a contract of employment with an employer. The legislation on employment matters in Nigeria is the Labour Act. The contract of employment will include some or all of the under listeds: An employer is obliged to provide an employee with a written statement of terms of employment within the first three months of the commencement of employment which specify among other things as follows:

• A description of the parties to the contract of employment.

• The nature of the service or services to be rendered under the contract of

Employment.

• The tenure of the contract including its probation period.

• The remuneration which must be paid in the legal tender of the country where the contract is entered into.

• The hours of work.

• Mandatory holiday with paid leave.

• Rules with regard to periods of incapacity to work due to sickness or injury.

• Maternity leave.

• The appropriate period of notice to be served before the contract can be terminated.

• Possible grounds for dismissal of the employee without notice, etc

Types of contract of employment

Contract of employment determinable by notice and Contract of employment stipulating no notice of termination.

TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT

A. Voluntary termination

Voluntary termination is a decision made by the employee to leave the job. Such a decision is commonly known as “resignation”, “quitting”, “leaving”, or “giving notice”. Some common reasons for voluntary termination include: Personal dissatisfaction with the job, employer, hours or working conditions, or in more severe cases, burnout. Factors in employee’s personal life not related to the job that makes holding or performing the job impossible or more difficult. These may include family obligations, education, health, or moving to a new location. Hire at a new job with better working conditions, better hours, a shorter distance to work, better pay, graduation, career progression or preparation for entry into a new career, or a career change. Feared or anticipated involuntary termination. The employee may wish to take matters into his/her own hands in order to leave more honorably – either completely on their own initiative, or as an offered alternative to layoff. (This is also known as mutual consent in some parts). Retirement: This may be as a result of the employee’s age (which may vary, depending on job type and benefits available following retirement) or else an injury, disability, or other medical condition forcing early retirement.

B Involuntary termination

Involuntary termination is the employee’s departure at the hands of the employer. There are two basic types of involuntary termination, known often as being “fired” and “laid off”. To be fired, as opposed to being laid off, is generally thought of to be the employee’s fault, and therefore is considered in most cases to be dishonorable and a sign of failure. Often, it may hinder the new jobseeker’s chances of finding new employment, particularly if he/she has been fired from earlier jobs. Jobseekers sometimes do not mention jobs which they were fired from on their resumes; accordingly unexplained gaps in employment and refusal to contact previous employers are often regarded as ‘red flags’. Being successively fired from several jobs has the possibility of preventing jobseekers from obtaining gainful employment for a long time.

C Termination of a contract: In all cases of the termination of a contract of employment, neither party is obligated to provide any reason for terminating the contract. Also, the motive of the party that terminates the employment contract is equally irrelevant provided that the provisions of the employment contract in relation to its termination are complied with by the terminating party.

TERMINATION NOTICE: A termination notice must be properly “couched”. (1) It must be in writing – Clearly written termination notice. (2) States facts behind the decision – i.e. identifies an objective reason for disciplining the employee and document the case.

Note: Most termination litigation occurs when an employer cannot demonstrate objective reasons for action. An employer who wants to discipline an employee without risk of litigation has to document a valid objective reason for the termination. There are three (3) valid objective reasons for terminating an employment, but only two (2) of them are grounds for discipline:

A Reduction in force (or Lay off)

B Pitfalls for employee engaged in layoff is the choice of selection criteria

C Violation of company rules

D Inability or failure to perform.

Breach of Employment Contracts – compensation: The fundamental basis for assessing damages in breach of contract cases is the compensation which the injured party would have been deprived of if the contract was not unlawfully terminate. Thus, in the case of an unlawful termination, the court will only award as damages the compensation of such period of salary that the terminating party would have been paid in lieu of the giving of the proper notice of termination. For wrongful dismissal without notice, the measure of damages will be the amount the injured party would have earned had he continued with the performance of the contract until the contract is lawfully terminated. Nigerian law does not recognize claims for injured feelings, physiological trauma or such similar claims when considering the amount to award as damages for breach of any employment contract. This is particularly as the injured party is required to mitigate whatever loss he or she may have suffered by getting another employment or securing another employee’s services.

DISMISSAL: Dismissal is where the employer chooses to require the employee to leave, generally for a reason which is the fault of the employee. The most common colloquial term for dismissal is “getting fired” or ‘getting the sack’. In some cases an employer is entitled to opt for the dismissal of its employee’s contract, instead of the termination of a contract of employment, where the conduct of its employee “…… is of some grave and weighty character that it undermines the relationship of confidence which must exist between a master and a servant”. Examples of conduct which could be considered to be of a grave and weighty nature include cases of stealing, fraud, bribery, corruption, falsification of records, gross insubordination, dereliction of duty, sleeping at work, verbal or physical violence, fighting, assault and battery, working under the influence of illegal drugs, conflict of interest, competition with the employer’s business, conversion of company’s property for private use without the employer’s permission or consent, etc.

CONCLUSION: An insufficient appreciation of the difference between a termination of an employment contract with a dismissal of an employee from employment is a major factor of most litigation. In all cases of termination of contract of employment, neither party is obligated to provide any reason for terminating the contract. The motive of the party that terminates the employment contract is irrelevant, provided that the provisions of the employment contract in relation to its termination are complied with by the terminating party. Whereas in dismissal cases the employer must state a reason for dismissing the employee. However, it is important that the supervisor/manager consult the company’s lawyer before issuing a letter of Termination or Dismissal.

1.8 EFFECTIVE CRISIS MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE REPUTATION

Conflicts are defined as any situation in which incompatible goals, attitudes, emotions or behavior lead to disagreement or opposition between two or more parties. Estimates show that managers spend about 21% of their time dealing with conflicts that is the equivalent of one day in a week. Conflict management skills are a major predictor of managerial success.

TYPES OF CONFLICTS: Not all conflict is bad. Some conflicts encourage new solution to problems and enhance the creativity in the organization. Managers should stimulate functional conflicts and prevent or resolve dysfunctional conflicts. This is the key to conflict management.

FUNCTIONAL CONFLICT: Is a healthy, constructive disagreement between two or more people. Functional conflict can produce new ideas, learning and growth among; individuals. When individuals engage in functional conflict, they develop a better awareness of themselves and others. Functional conflict can improve working relations because when, two parties work through their disagreement, they feel they have accomplished some things together by releasing tensions and solving problems in working together, morale is improved. Functional conflicts can lead to innovation and positive change for the organization because it tends to encourage creativity among individuals. This positive form of conflicts can translate into increased productivity among individuals. A key for recognizing functional conflicts is that, it is often cognitive in origin, that is, it arises from someone challenging old policies or thinking of new ways to approach problems.

DYSFUNCTIONAL CONFLICTS: Is an unhealthy destructive disagreement between two or more people. Its danger is that it takes the focus away from the work to be done and place the focus on the conflict itself, and the parties involved. Executive conflict drains energy that could be used productively. Diagnosing conflicts as good or bad is not easy.

CONSEQUENCES OF CONFLICT

POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES

Leads to new ideas Diverts energy from work

Stimulates creativity Threatens psychological wellbeing

Motivates changes Wastes Resources

Promotes Organizational Vitality Creates a negative climate

Helps individuals and groups establish identities Break down group cohesion

Serves as safety to indicate problems behavior Can increase hostility and aggressive

CAUSES OF CONFLICTS IN ORGANIZATIONS: Conflicts are pervasive in organization. To manage it effectively, managers should understand the many sources of conflicts. They can be classified into two broad categories. Structural factors which stem from the nature of the organization and the way in which work is organized and personal factors which arises from differences among individuals.

STRUCTURAL FACTORS PERSONAL FACTORS

Specialization Skills and Abilities

Independence Personalities

Common Resources Perceptions

Goal Differences Values and Ethics

Authority Relationships Emotions

Status Inconsistence Communication Barriers

Jurisdiction Ambiguities Cultural Differences

SPECIALIZATION: When jobs are highly specialized, employees become expert at certain tasks. E.g. highly specialized jobs can lead to conflict because people have little awareness of the task that others perform. A classic example of conflict of specialization is one between sales people and engineers. Engineers are technical specialist responsible for product design and quality. Sales people are marketing experts and liaisons with customers. Sales people are often accused of making delivery promises to customers but engineers cannot keep because the sales force lacks the technical knowledge necessary to develop realistic delivery deadlines.

INTERDEPENDENCE: Work that is interdependence required groups or individuals to depend on one another to accomplished goals. Depending on other people to get work done is fine when the process works smoothly. However, when there is problem, it becomes very easy to blame the other party and conflict escalates. In a garment manufacturing company for example, when the fabric cutter gets behind in their work, the workers who sew the garment are delayed as well. Considerable frustration may result when workers at the sewing machine feels their effort are being blocked in the cutter slow pace.

COMMON RESOURCES: Anytime multiple parties must share resource, there is potential for conflict. This potential is enhanced where the shared resources become scarce. One resource often shared by managers is secretarial support. It is not uncommon for a secretary to support two or more managers each of whom believes his or her work is most important. This puts pressure on the secretary and leads to potential conflicts in prioritizing and scheduling work.

GOALS DIFFERENCES: When work groups have different goals, these goals may be incompatible e.g. in one cable television company, the sales person’s goal was to sell as many new installations as possible. This created problem for the services department because its goal was timely installations. With increasing sales, the services department workload became backed up, and orders were delayed. Often these types of conflicts occur because individuals do not have knowledge of another department’s objectives.

AUTHORITY RELATIONSHIP: The nature of a traditional boss-employee relationship brings to mind a vision or hierarchy, of a boss who is superior to the employee. For many employees, the relationship is not a comfortable one because another individual has the right to tell them what to do. Some people resent authority more than others and obviously this creates conflict. In addition, some bosses are more autocratic than others. This compounds the potential for conflicts in the relationship. As the organization moves toward the team approach and empowerment, there should be less potential conflict from authority relationships.

STATUS INCONSISTENCIES: Some organizations have a strong status differences between management and non-management workers. Managers may enjoy privileges such as flexible schedule, personal telephone call at work and longer lunch hours that are not available to non-management employees. This may result in resentment and conflict.

JURISDICTIONAL AMBIGUITIES: Have you ever telephone a company with a problem and had your call transferred through several different people and department? This situation illustrates jurisdictional ambiguity that is unclear lines of responsibility. Workers tend to pass the buck or avoid dealing with the problem. Conflicts emerge over responsibility for the problem.

PERSONAL FACTORS: The causes of conflict that arises from individual differences include skills and abilities. It may be positive for the organization but it also hold potentials for conflicts, especially when job are interdependent. Experienced, competent workers may find it difficult to work alongside new and unskilled recruits. Workers can become resentful when their new boss, fresh from college, knows a lot about managing people but unfamiliar with the technology with which they are working.

PERSONALITIES: Individuals do not leave their personalities at the doorstep when they enter the workplace. Personality conflicts are realities in organizations. To expect that you will like all of your co-workers may be a native expectation, as would be the expectation that all will like you. One personality trait that many people find it difficult to deal with is abrasiveness. An abrasive person is one who ignores the interpersonal aspects of work and the feeling of colleagues. Abrasive individuals are often achievement oriented and hardworking, but their perfectionist, critical style often leaves others feeling unimportant. This style creates stress and strain for those around the abrasive person.

PERCEPTIONS: Differences in perception can also lead to conflicts. One area in which perceptions can differ is the perception of what motivates employees. If managers and worker do not have shared perception of what motivates people, the reward system can create conflicts. Managers usually provide what they think employees want rather than what employees really want.

VALUES AND ETHICS: Differences in values and ethics can be sources of disagreement. Older workers for example, value company loyalty and probably would not take a sick day when they were not really ill. Younger workers value mobility, like the concept of Mental Health Days or calling in sick to get away from work. This may not be true for all workers, but it illustrates that differences in values can lead to conflict. Most people have their own sets of values and ethics. The extent to which they apply these ethnics in the workplace varies. Some people have strong desires for approval from others and will work to meet others ethical standards. Some people are relatively unconcerned with approval from others and strongly apply their own ethical standards, still others operate seeming without regards to ethics or values. When conflicts over values or ethics do arise, heated disagreement is common because of personal nature of the differences.

EMOTIONS: The mood of others can be sources of conflicts in the workplace. Problems at home often spill over into work arena, and the related mood can be hard for others to deal with.

COMMUNICATION BARRIERS: Communication barriers such as physical separation and language can create distortions in messages and these can lead to conflicts. Another communication barrier is value judgment, in which a listener assigns a worth to a message before it is received. For example, suppose a team member is a chronic complainer, when the individual enters the manager’s office the manager is likely to devalue the message before it is even delivered. Conflict can then emerge. Many other communication barriers lead to conflicts.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES: Several strategies can be used to manage conflicts in organizations;. There are both effective and ineffective ways of managing conflicts.

EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUES: There are effective conflicts management techniques. These include appealing to super-ordinates goals, expanding resources, changing personnel, changing structure and negotiating.

(1) SUPER ORDINATE GOALS: An organizational goal that is more important to both parties in a conflict than their individual or group goals is a super ordinate goal. Supper ordinate goals cannot be achieved by an individual or by one group alone. The achievement of these goals require cooperation by both parties. One effective technique for resolving conflict is to appeal to a super ordinate goal, in effect to focus the parties on large issues on which they both agree. This helps in the realization of their similarities rather than differences. In the conflict between services representatives and telephone installer, appealing to super ordinate goal would be an effective techniques for resolving the conflict. Both departments can agree that superior customer services is a goal worthy of pursuit and that this goal cannot be achieved unless telephone are installed properly and in a timely manner and customer complaints are handle effectively. Quality service requires that both departments cooperate to achieve the goal.

(2) EXPANDING RESOURCES: This is one conflict resolution technique so simple that it may be overlooked. If the conflicts resources are common or scarce, providing more resources may be a solution. Of course, managers working with tight budgets may have the luxury of obtaining additional resources. Nevertheless, it is a technique to be considered. The solution to the conflict among managers over secretariat support would be to hire secretaries.

(3) CHANGING PERSONNEL: Sometimes a conflict is prolonged and effort at resolution fails. In such cases, it may be appropriate to change personnel. Transferring or firing an individual may be the best solution but only after due process.

(4) CHANGE STRUCTURE: Another way to resolve a conflict is to change the structure of the Organization. One way of accomplishing this is to create an integrator role. An Integrator is liaison between groups with very different interests. In severe conflicts, it may be best that the integrator be a neutral third party. Creating the integrator role is a way of opening a dialogue between groups that have difficulty in communicating. Using cross-functional terms is another way of changing the organizations structure to manage conflicts. In the old methods of designing new products in organizations, many departments had to contribute and delay resulted from difficulties in coordinating the activities of the various departments. Using a cross-functional team made up of members from different departments improved at the same time rather than sequentially. The team approach allows members from different departments to work together and reduce the potential for conflict.

(5) CONFRONTING AND NEGOTIATING: Some conflicts require confronting and negotiation between the parties. Both strategies require skill on the part of the negotiator and careful planning engaging in negotiations. The process of negotiating involves an open discussion of problem, solutions and the outcome often is an exchange in which both parties work towards a mutually beneficial solution. Negotiation is a joint process of finding a mutually acceptable solution to a complex conflict. Negotiating is a useful strategy under the following conditions:

 There are two or more parties. Negotiations are primarily an interpersonal or inter group process.

 There is a conflict of interest between the parties such that what one party wants is not what the other party wants.

 The parties are willing to negotiate because they believe they can use their influence to obtain a better outcome than by simply taking the side of the other party.

 They prefer to work together than to fight openly, give in, break off contact or take the dispute to a higher authority.

INEFFECTIVE TECHNIQUES

NON ACTION: Is doing nothing in the hope that a conflict will disappear. This is not generally a good technique because most conflicts do not go away and individuals involved on the conflicts react with frustration.

SECURITY: Trying to keep a conflict out of view of most people only creates suspicion. An example is an organizational policy of pay secrecy. In some organizations discussion of salary is enough ground for dismissal, when this is the case employees suspect that the company has something to hide.

ADMINISTRATIVE ORBITING: Is delaying action on a conflict by buying time usually by telling the individual involved that the problem is being worked on or that the boss is still thinking about the issue. Like in non-action this techniques leads to frustration.

DUE PROCESS IN ACTION: Is a process set up to address conflicts that is so costly, time consuming or personally risky that no one will use it. Some companies sexual harassment policies are example of this technique. To file a sexual harassment complaint, detailed paper work is required, the accuser must go through appropriate channels and the accuser risks being branded a troublemaker thus the company has a procedure for handling complaints but no one uses it (non action).

CHARACTER ASSASSINATION: Is an attempt to label or discredit an opponent. Character assassination can backfire and make the individual who uses it appear dishonest and cruel.

HOW TO RECEIVE PROJECT MATERIAL(S)

After paying the appropriate amount (#5,000) into our bank Account below, send the following information to

08068231953 or 08168759420

(1) Your project topics

(2) Email Address

(3) Payment Name

(4) Teller Number

We will send your material(s) after we receive bank alert

BANK ACCOUNTS

Account Name: AMUTAH DANIEL CHUKWUDI

Account Number: 0046579864

Bank: GTBank.