5 Things You Need To Know As We Approach the General Elections

With just a few days to the General Elections in Kenya, politics is taking center stage.

Despite all the political heat surrounding us, it is crucial to bear in mind that there is life after the Elections and your job will still be important even after the heat has died down.

As an employee, here are 5 things you need to know as we approach the General Election

Suggested Read: Hiring is Slowing Down as 2017 Elections Approach. Here’s How to Survive.

1. Time off to vote

It is your constitutional right to vote.

Section 18 of the Electoral offenses act (2016) states that every employer is required by the law to allow his or her employees sufficient time to exercise their constitutional voting rights.

Your employer is not allowed to make any deductions from your pay or exercise any form of penalty due to your absence from work on the declared polling or voting dates.

Any extensions after the polling day for example to await poll results is not provided for in the law and may be purely at the discretion of your employer. My advice would be that you seek clarity from your employer on what their expectations are in terms of when they will expect you to resume work after the polls.

2. Campaigning in the workplace

Your time at work is important and should be used to add value to your employer’s business. It is against the law for you to use your employer’s resources and time for campaign purposes.

Your employer is justified to ban any political activities in the workplace. However, any ban on such activities should be applied consistently to all members of staff despite their political inclination.

3. Your political beliefs

As an employee, you are entitled to your political beliefs and it is against the law for your employer to discriminate you on the basis of your political beliefs.

However, as it is with any human rights, you should not use your political beliefs as grounds for you to treat colleagues with different political beliefs in contempt.

4. Social Media Postings

Social media platforms are now an embedded part of life for many employees and what you post online does not always remain there.

There is potential for it to spread beyond manageable levels due to modern day data backups and other means to secure your postings such as the use of screenshots.

It is wise to remember what is acceptable and what is not when posting your views on social media especially in the run up to the general election. Very strong views towards or against certain political divides may not be acceptable.

Given the likelihood of disagreements over which political divide needs to win, it is advisable to steer clear of such posts to avoid resulting arguments.

This will help to avoid allegations of hate speech or alienating business contacts who might not share your viewpoint.

Read Also: 5 Things You Need to Know About the Current Job Market in Kenya – New Survey Reveals

5. Remaining positive and focused in times of uncertainty

Long after the political dust has settled, you will still have a career to build and career objectives to achieve. While it is very easy to get distracted by everything that is happening in the country, take advantage of the slow period at work to re-focus on your objectives.

Evaluate how far along you have come and the things that have worked for you. Also, take this time to revisit your failures and learn from them.

This will also be a great time for you to network with old contacts and find out what they are up to. This could open up opportunities you hadn’t even thought of.

Here’s to wishing you a peaceful elections period.

Do you have a question or comment, be sure to drop it in the comment box below or email clientservice@corporatestaffing.co.ke