After a two decade long legal fight, a former employee of Rayside Concrete Works Ltd has won the battle for his 15-year severance package, with a Court of Appeal judge describing the delay as “horrendous”.
James Livingstone Eastmond, who was employed as a truck driver at the company from December 1976 to April 1992, has been awarded severance by the Court of Appeal, after losing his case first at the Severance Payments Tribunal and then the High Court.
The decision was handed down last Thursday by Acting Chief Justice Peter Williams who heard the case, along with Justices of Appeal Sandra Mason and Andrew Burgess. They said they were not provided with a figure but Eastmond should be paid in accordance with the Severance Payment Act and the award would take no account of inflation.
“The appellant has been denied his severance payment for over 20 years. The delay has been horrendous,” stated the written judgment.