Justice Chua also drew adverse inferences from Three Fins’ failure to call two critical witnesses.
Mr Divyanathan said: “Apart from the very large damages award, I believe this case shows the dangers to companies of carrying out summary dismissal of employees for misconduct without proper procedures and (with) an ulterior motive, such as avoiding paying contractual bonuses.”
Asked when an employee who thinks he has been unfairly dismissed should consider filing suit, Mr Divyanathan said that the first stop for most of these cases is typically the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM).
If the dispute cannot be resolved in mediation, it will be heard by the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT).
However, he noted that claims under TADM are subject to a limit of $20,000, or $30,000 if a union files the claim on the employee’s behalf.
If the employee’s claim exceeds the applicable limit fixed by TADM, he may consider filing a suit in the District Court or the High Court, depending on the amount being claimed, Mr Divyanathan said.
A claim commenced in the High Court must be for more than $250,000, Mr Divyanathan added.
“Of course, filing claims in the Courts would be far more costly for employees because they have to engage a lawyer.
“By contrast, no lawyers are allowed at the TADM or Employment Claims Tribunals.”
Mr Hoeptner told ST via e-mail he was happy to close the chapter, and added he was grateful to Mr Divyanathan’s team.
“The High Court’s ruling vindicates my position and restores my professional reputation,” he said.
Mr Hoeptner said he aims to help increase mass market adoption of digital tokens, including via building a new euro-denominated stablecoin, in his current role as chief executive of digital assets firm AllUnity.
Lawyers ST spoke to said the payout is likely