Firing Casuals During Off-Peak Season Unfair, Court Rules
Is your business compliant with Kenya Labor Laws? Are you up-to-date with the recent court rulings on employment issues? Is your business at risk of expensive litigations due to non-compliance?
If your business hires casual employees, this article involving a casual employee’s fight for recognition as permanent staff and the court’s decision on this case is for you, as posted by The Standard.
‘’Court of Appeal recently ruled that a company cannot hire an employee in the guise of being casual depending on peak and off-peak sessions.
Justices Hellen Omondi, Fatuma Sichale and Daniel Musinga in a ruling delivered recently noted that subjecting workers to such treatment was unfair.
The judges further noted being laid off during off-peak season does not guarantee the worker permanency and neither can the employee look for employment elsewhere during the off-peak.
They made the observations in an appeal where Kenyatta University had appealed against a judgement delivered at the high court in favour of an employee, Esther Maina.
Maina had sued the institution for violating her rights and freedom by failing to recognise her as a permanent employee having worked in the organisation for nine years.
“In our view, an employer cannot have an employee laid-off under the guise of being casual on the reasoning that it has peak and off-peak sessions.”
“To subject an employee to such a treatment is unfair because being laid off during off-peak season does not guarantee the employee permanency, and neither can the employee look for employment elsewhere during the off-peak season.”
“We agree with the conclusion of Wasilwa, J. when she concluded: “This is the position in the instant petition where there is no contention that the petitioner served the respondent continuously for months on end, which cumulatively comes to over many years,” read the judgment delivered on November 4 at Nairobi.
Ms Maina was employed as a secretary in August 2009, and on July 19, 2018, all the casual workers in the institution were made to sign seasonal contracts, which she alleged was made under duress.
In November 2018, she said she never understood the contract. Yet, the meeting was not held and she was not entitled to sick off and maternity leave, complaining that there was a misrepresentation of facts regarding salary.’’
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