High Court Awards $205K to Wrongfully Dismissed Principal

The High Court of Belize has awarded former acting principal Isaac Longsworth BZD $205,493.39 in arrears of salary and allowances, following a prolonged legal battle over his 2017 dismissal from Saint Barnabas Anglican Primary School. The dismissal has already been declared unlawful by the courts.

Justice Martha Lynette Alexander also settled a significant legal question with wide implications for Belize’s teaching profession: the mandatory retirement age for teachers is 60 years, not 55.

Longsworth had served as acting principal since 2013 but was placed on leave in 2015 pending an investigation into allegations against him. In September 2017, following a disciplinary process involving the Anglican Diocese of Belize, the Belize Teaching Service Commission, and the Teaching Service Appeals Tribunal, he was dismissed. In 2019, the High Court declared the dismissal void at every stage, finding he had not been given a fair opportunity to be heard. Although he was initially awarded limited compensation covering just eleven months, he appealed. In 2023, the Court of Appeal ruled that he was entitled to a full assessment of lost salary, emoluments, and opportunities from October 2019 onward.

A major issue during the assessment was Longsworth’s salary scale and career progression. At the time of dismissal, he was on pay scale 16.4, but he argued that he would have completed a Certificate in Educational Leadership, which would have moved him to a higher scale. The court accepted that his dismissal prevented him from completing the programme and agreed he would have advanced to pay scale 17. However, the judge rejected his claim for additional increases tied to a possible master’s degree, citing insufficient evidence.

The defendants argued that teachers are required to retire at 55, which would have limited Longsworth’s compensation. After examining the School Teachers’ Pensions Act and the Teaching Service Commission Handbook, Justice Alexander ruled that retirement at 55 is optional, not mandatory. The law states that a teacher “shall” retire at 60, making 60 the compulsory retirement age. The court found that treating 55 as mandatory would contradict the plain language of the statute.

Longsworth also claimed that his dismissal effectively shut him out of the teaching profession. While the court accepted that his employment prospects were significantly harmed, it stopped short of finding that he was permanently unemployable. Instead of awarding salary up to age 60, the court granted arrears from October 2019 to March 11, 2026, along with twelve months of transitional salary, subject to statutory deductions and a ten percent contingency reduction to account for normal labour market uncertainties.

The total award of BZD $205,493.39 includes salary adjustments, allowances, and deductions for income tax and social security, along with interest at six percent per annum from October 2019 to the date of judgment. No separate payment was granted for unused vacation leave. The court also directed the Accountant-General to calculate Longsworth’s pension and gratuity when he turns 60 in 2030, treating him as though he had remained continuously employed, ensuring the unlawful dismissal does not affect his retirement benefits.