[2013] KEELRC 689 (KLR)

[2013] KEELRC 689 (KLR)

The court found that the respondent failed to comply with the mandatory procedural requirements for redundancy under section 40 of the Employment Act, specifically by not notifying the Labour Officer before issuing redundancy notices to the claimants. The court held that the claimants, though labeled as casuals by...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2013] KEELRC 689 (KLR)
Parties
Applicant: Henry Kakai; Applicant: Anthony Peter; Applicant: Sairus Zimuli; Applicant: Dan Chogo; Applicant: Justine Timothy Mate; Applicant: Francis Kithendu; Applicant: John Kakai; Applicant: John Karanja; Applicant: Robert Muthangya; Applicant: Dickson Kevogo; Applicant: Bernard Vundi; Respondent: Debendra Kamat t/a Swadish Foods
Court
Employment and Labour Relations Court
Court Station
Employment and Labour Relations Court at Nairobi
Jurisdiction
Kenya
Case Number
Adoption Cause 2449 of 2012
Procedural Posture
Employment Cause / Judgment
Outcome
Judgment for the claimants; redundancy declared procedurally unfair; claimants awarded notice pay, severance pay, off duty pay, and costs.
Judges
M Mbarũ
Legal Topics
Redundancy Procedure, Notice Pay, Severance Pay, Off Duty Entitlement, Casual Vs Regular Employment, Unlawful Deductions
Source Language
en
Employment and Labour Redundancy Procedure Notice Pay Severance Pay Off Duty Entitlement Casual Vs Regular Employment Unlawful Deductions

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Parties

Henry Kakai

Applicant

Anthony Peter

Applicant

Sairus Zimuli

Applicant

Dan Chogo

Applicant

Justine Timothy Mate

Applicant

Francis Kithendu

Applicant

John Kakai

Applicant

John Karanja

Applicant

Robert Muthangya

Applicant

Dickson Kevogo

Applicant

Bernard Vundi

Applicant

Debendra Kamat t/a Swadish Foods

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Employment Cause / Judgment

  1. 1 Whether the redundancy process followed by the respondent complied with section 40 of the Employment Act.
  2. 2 Whether the claimants were entitled to notice pay, severance pay, and off duty pay.
  3. 3 Whether the claimants were casual employees or regular employees under section 37 of the Employment Act.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the respondent failed to comply with the mandatory procedural requirements for redundancy under section 40 of the Employment Act, specifically by not notifying the Labour Officer before issuing redundancy notices to the claimants. The court held that the claimants, though labeled as casuals by the respondent, were in fact regular employees under section 37 due to the continuous nature of their work. The court determined that the redundancy was substantively justified due to business closure, but the flawed procedure rendered the termination unfair. The claimants were therefore entitled to one month's notice pay, severance pay at 15 days per completed year of service,...

Court Disposition

Judgment for the claimants; redundancy declared procedurally unfair; claimants awarded notice pay, severance pay, off duty pay, and costs.

Orders

  • Declaration that the redundancy was procedurally unfair.
  • Award of one month's notice pay to each claimant.