A safety superintendent was awarded €30,000 for unjust dismissal by her employer, the Court of Appeal decided today.

Vanessa Fenech, 36, had been employed with SL Shipping Management Co Ltd since July 1, 2010 on an indefinite full-time basis with the company whose main business involved the management of sea vessels.

Owing to a reduction in the company's workload, the employee was informed that an internal restructuring exercise had to be carried out.

In October, 2012, Ms Fenech received a letter of termination informing her that her duties were to be assigned to the current security superintendent of the company, namely Clive Mallia.

However, she was subsequently requested to give a handover to Matthew Refalo, a person who was not listed on the company books. The court heard how the man was actually employed with Waste Oils Co. Ltd, another subsidiary within the group.

The woman therefore filed an application before the Industrial Tribunal to seek legal redress.

Before the tribunal, Ms Fenech had argued that the excuse of redundancy was merely a facade and that her termination of employment by the company amounted to unfair and unjustified dismissal. It was pointed out that at the time, no other employee had been dismissed on the basis of redundancy by the company. Moreover, the applicant informed the tribunal of various episodes of conflict which resulted in strained relations between herself and her superiors.

The matter was decided in favour of the applicant, however the respondent company appealed the ruling of the tribunal.

The Court of Appeal, presided by Mr Justice Anthony Ellul, upheld the claim of Ms Fenech and confirmed the decision of the tribunal. SL Shipping Mangement Co Ltd  was ordered to pay Ms Fenech the sum of €30,000 as compensation for the woman's unjustified dismissal.

The court noted that there was a lapse of almost two years between the effective dismissal of the woman and the date of the tribunal's ruling in her favour. During all this time the applicant was unemployed.