The Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union (ABWU) has filed an appeal in the Court of Appeal, challenging a recent Industrial Court ruling that found a hotel employee had abandoned his job rather than being dismissed.
The appeal, Akeele Thomas v Carlisle Bay Resort, stems from a February 6, 2026, decision in which the Industrial Court dismissed the employee’s unfair dismissal claim, concluding that there was no termination of employment and that the employee had instead abandoned his job.
In the Notice of Appeal, the ABWU argues that the Court erred in law by finding no dismissal and concluding that job abandonment had occurred, without proof of an unequivocal intention by the employee.
The union also challenges the Court’s treatment of the burden of proof, contending that it was wrongly placed on the employee and that insufficient consideration was given to the employer’s conduct, including the employee’s removal from the work roster and the lack of further communication.
Additionally, the union argues that the Court failed to consider whether the employer took reasonable steps before concluding abandonment and erred in refusing to examine constructive dismissal, despite the issue arising on the evidence.
The union is now seeking to have the decision set aside and the matter reheard before a different panel of the Industrial Court.
This appeal follows concerns warning that the court’s ruling could undermine worker protections and recommended that the matter be taken to the Court of Appeal for review. The outcome is expected to have important implications for how job abandonment and dismissal cases are treated in Antigua and Barbuda.
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