Boufoy-Bastick v The University of the West Indies

Contractual service requirements must be construed in their particular context. The expression “ten years continuous service” need not invariably mean 3,650 elapsed days. The court should ascertain the meaning conveyed to a reasonable person with the relevant background knowledge, giving the contractual scheme a reasonable and practical effect. Common sense and fairness may assist where the wording admits of contextual flexibility. Consistent provisions in the contract and incorporated rules may show that the parties treated an academic year, or a contractual year of appointment, as a completed year of service even though the employee began work after the academic year commenced. The conclusion is fact-sensitive. It does not create a general rule that any period shorter than 365 days counts as a year.

Dr Boufoy-Bastick, a senior lecturer, was required to retire at 65. The University of the West Indies’ scheme for alleviating superannuation hardship required ten years’ continuous service immediately before retirement.

The Supreme Court of Jamaica, Beckford J, held that his service began when he accepted the appointment and declared him entitled to the supplementary pension benefits. The Court of Appeal, by a majority, allowed the University’s appeal and set aside that declaration; Panton P dissented. The issue before the Board was whether service began on 11 August 1997 or 6 October 1997 and, if the latter, whether the contractual expression “ten years continuous service” nevertheless treated his service as covering ten years by 31 August 2007.

1. Appeal allowed. The Board advised that Dr Boufoy-Bastick was entitled to the supplementary pension benefits. The University was ordered to pay his costs in the appeal and below.
2. The contract was made when Dr Boufoy-Bastick accepted the revised offer on 11 August 1997, but it provided that the appointment would take effect when he assumed his duties in October 1997. His service and employment therefore began on 6 October 1997. The first contention failed.
3. The words “ten years continuous service” were construed in the context of the contract and the University’s rules. Contractual interpretation requires the meaning conveyed to a reasonable person with the relevant background knowledge. The words must be read as part of the document rather than as isolated dictionary terms. Common sense and a fair construction may assist where competing interpretations exist. No special rule applies merely because the provision forms part of a pension scheme, although the scheme should have a reasonable and practical effect.
4. Although Dr Boufoy-Bastick began work 36 days after the academic year began, the surrounding contractual provisions showed that the parties treated the relevant academic and appointment years as completed years of service. The salary increment due on 1 September 1998, the relocation provisions referring to the first, second and third years of service, and the settling-in loan for a three-year appointment all supported that construction. Clause 34(a)(i), concerning retirement on 31 July, provided a further indication.
5. The Board stressed the narrow scope of its conclusion. It did not establish that every period shorter than 365 days must count as a year under clause 27(b). The result depended on the singular contractual and factual context.

• Privy Council: The Board allowed the appeal, advised that the supplementary pension benefits were payable, and ordered the University to pay the costs of the appeal and the proceedings below.
• Court of Appeal of Jamaica: By a majority, the court allowed the University’s appeal on 31 July 2013 and set aside the declaration made by Beckford J; reasons were given on 4 October 2013. Panton P dissented.
• Supreme Court of Jamaica: On 18 November 2011, Beckford J upheld the claim that service began on 11 August 1997 and declared Dr Boufoy-Bastick entitled to the benefits.