Air Namibia’s liquidators must recalculate the payouts due to former employees after Namibia’s Supreme Court upheld their appeal in a dispute over severance and related benefits. The ruling narrows the pay components that count as remuneration in the airline’s liquidation, affecting 81 ex-employees and reshaping how claims will be settled after the carrier stopped flying in February 2021.
The court ruled that remuneration for the purpose of these calculations includes only basic salary, housing allowance and transport allowance, excluding employer pension, medical aid and social security contributions. That overturned a broader High Court interpretation from August 2024. Liquidators Ian McLaren and Simon Steyn must now determine the amounts owed for accumulated leave, annual bonuses, severance pay and notice-period pay, then pay the balance after sums already distributed in December 2022.
The judgment resolves a long-running dispute over how employment agreements should be applied during the winding-up of the defunct national carrier. Appeal judge Hosea Angula wrote the decision, with appeal judge Esi Schimming-Chase and acting judge of appeal Hannelie Prinsloo concurring.