Court of Appeal confirms Tribunal decision awarding damages to fired MFSA COO
The former executive was awarded almost €414,000
The Court of Appeal has upheld a September decision ordering the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) to pay almost €414,000 in damages to a former top official who was unjustly fired by then CEO Joseph Cuschieri.
The MFSA had appealed the Industrial Tribunal ruling ordering the authority to compensate Reuben Fenech, the chief operations officer of the authority since 2018, who sued his former employer after he was dismissed with immediate effect in September 2019.
The Tribunal found Cuschieri bypassed established disciplinary procedures outlined in MFSA's Staff Handbook, effectively acting as both prosecutor and judge.
Fenech was fired three months after receiving a letter of appraisal stating that his performance was “meeting expectations”.
The tribunal said letters of feedback were no substitute for warning letters. Indeed, Fenech never received any warning about poor performance.
The Tribunal, chaired by Joseph Gerada, found that Fenech’s dismissal was “premeditated” and unfair since Cuschieri did not follow the procedures set out in the handbook.
While the Tribunal heard that the pair appeared to have different work ethics, it decided Fenech’s work style was no attempt to hinder the CEO in attaining corporate objectives.
The Tribunal concluded that the dismissal was therefore unfair and awarded Fenech €413,688, of which €50,000 are moral damages.
In a hearing Friday, judge Lawrence Mintoff declared the appeal inadmissable and upheld the original decision while ordering the MFSA to bear the costs of the proceedings.
PN: Cuschieri’s position ‘no longer tenable’
In a statement reacting to the appeal decision, the Nationalist Party reiterated its calls at the time of the Tribunal decision for Cuschieri to be removed from his post as CEO of Project Green, calling his position “untenable”.
It called on Environment Minister Miriam Dalli to “immediately remove” Cuschieri from the post. “Should she fail to act, Prime Minister Robert Abela must take the necessary step himself”, the party said.
“If Cuschieri is not removed, Robert Abela would be further entrenching the toxic culture that nothing matters. He would be rewarding those who act wrongly, break the law, and destroy people’s lives.”
The Opposition called on the MFSA to take legal steps to ensure Cuschieri, “who committed this blatant and flagrant illegality”, pays the compensation rather than the taxpayer.
It said the financial authority “cannot fail to take these steps and cannot remain silent in the face of such an injustice. Malta’s reputation in the financial sector has already suffered heavy blows and cannot withstand further scandal”.
The statement was co-signed by shadow ministers Jerome Caruana Cilia, Graham Bencini, Rebekah Borg and Bernice Bonello.