Kenya has a functioning labour dispute system, but it operates on a short clock.
The 60-day deadline
If you were wrongfully terminated, you have 60 days from termination to file a complaint at the Labour Office.
That is the single most important date to know. Missing it makes a claim considerably harder.
Common grounds
- Redundancy without the 30-day notice to the County Labour Officer
- Unfair selection for redundancy
- Dismissal without a disciplinary hearing
- Severance calculated on the wrong basic wage
- SHIF or NSSF deducted but not remitted
- Terminal dues not paid
- Employer requiring after-hours availability contrary to the right to disconnect
What to gather before you file
- Your employment contract
- Payslips, evidencing your basic wage
- The termination notice with its stated reason
- Your service certificate
- The final calculation breakdown
- Records of any disciplinary process
- NSSF and SHIF statements
- Correspondence with dates
Document as you go
Records created at the time carry more weight than reconstructions. Note dates of all communications while they are happening.
The burden of justification
An employee is not required to justify their resignation. But an employer may be required to justify a termination when the employee claims it was unfair and unlawful.
That asymmetry is useful to understand.
Statutory rights cannot be signed away
Minimum notice, severance and leave cannot be waived by agreement. If you were asked to sign something reducing them, that agreement does not override the Act.
Better terms in contracts and CBAs
Where your employment contract or a collective bargaining agreement provides a better severance package, those terms are used in computing your terminal dues — not the statutory minimum.
Check whether one applies to you.
Where to go
The Labour Office. The Employment and Labour Relations Court handles matters that escalate.