Employment Law Lawyers in Nairobi

The Employment Act 2007 requires written particulars for a period exceeding three months, covering the parties, the job, the place of work, the date of commencement, hours, remuneration and its intervals, leave entitlement, notice or its equivalent, and any probation period. Certain terms are minimum standards and cannot be contracted out of. A contract that omits a statutory entitlement does not remove it; the statutory minimum still applies. See employment contracts and what to check before signing.

Fairness has two limbs: a valid reason and a fair procedure. Procedure requires that the employee knew the allegation, had a reasonable opportunity to respond, was heard before a decision was taken, and had the right to be accompanied by a fellow employee or a union representative. The decision must also be communicated with reasons. Failure on procedure alone can make an otherwise justified dismissal unfair. See the disciplinary process and unfair dismissal at the ELRC.

Redundancy arises where a job has genuinely ceased to exist for reasons not attributable to the employee, such as restructuring, closure or technology. It is not a disciplinary outcome and cannot be used to disguise one. Redundancy carries its own statutory process, including notice to the employee and to the labour officer, selection criteria that can be shown to be fair, and severance pay. Doing it as a redundancy in name only is a common and expensive error. See the redundancy procedure and wrongful termination.

Yes, but the process matters more than in a misconduct case, because poor performance is rarely a single event. You generally need clear performance standards that were communicated, evidence of shortfall, a documented opportunity and support to improve, warnings where appropriate, and a hearing before a decision. Terminating at the first sign of a shortfall without that record is the pattern that most often results in a finding of unfair termination. See terminating for poor performance and the disciplinary process.

The label in the contract is not decisive. Kenyan law looks at the substance of the relationship, including control, integration into the business, who provides tools, and how payment is structured. If a person engaged as a contractor is in substance an employee, the statutory obligations apply regardless of the label, and the exposure can reach back over the engagement. It is worth reviewing arrangements before a dispute rather than after. See contractor versus employee misclassification and statutory deductions for employers.