Kenya Labour Law On Redundancy

Kenya Labour Law On Redundancy.

The Kenyan Employment Act 2007, defines redundancy as the loss of a job or occupation through no fault of an employee, happening mostly where the services of the said employee are no longer needed.

Related: Kenya Labour Laws On Terminating Employment

Is termination on redundancy legal in Kenya?

According to the Kenyan labour law on redundancy, the employer’s right to terminate employment on grounds of redundancy is provided for in the Employment Act, 2007.

This is as long as the retrenchment is done in a legal manner where the employee affected, their trade unions or both are informed of an impending job loss.

Who can be terminated on redundancy?

The most common reason companies chose to retrench employees is so as to cut costs – that is if the company is making losses and there is a need to restructure.

An employee is also cut in for job loss if their role is not bringing much in terms of productivity to the company.

N.B: The Kenyan labour law on redundancy does not provide grounds for termination on redundancy due to personal feelings for a certain employee, for instance, hatred unless the performance of the employee has been wanting for some time and any measures to correct the situation have proved futile.

What does the Kenyan Labor Law On Redundancy Say?

Now that we have looked at what termination on redundancy is as well as who can fall, a victim, let’s look at some of the provisions of the law.

1. The legal process of termination on redundancy

The Section 40 (1) of the Employment Act, 2007 states where the employee is a member of a trade union, the employer should inform the trades union official representing the area where the employee works of the intended retrenchment and its extent by issuing a not less that 30 days notice prior to the intended date of termination due to redundancy.

Where the employee is not a member of a trade union, the employer should personally inform the employee in writing and the labour office.

2. Criteria for Selection for Termination

As per the Kenyan labour law on redundancy, the selection of employees to be declared redundant is to be done in regard to the seniority at the time, skills, abilities and reliability of each employee in that particular class of employees affected by the redundancy.

3. Payment of dues

The employer in the case where leave is due to the employee, who is declared redundant, will pay off the leave in cash.

The Kenyan law on redundancy also stipulates that the employer will pay the employee declared redundant, not less than one month notice or one month’s wages in lieu of notice.

The employer is also expected to pay the employee declared redundant severance pay at the rate of not less than 15 days for each completed year of service.

Related Article>>> Sick Leave Days In Kenya And The Law.

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