Joyce Wambui Muraguri v Registered Trustees P.C.E.A Kikuyu Hospital [2014] KEELRC 210 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court ruled that a suspended nurse was entitled to full salary for her entire suspension period plus notice pay because her dismissal lacked due process.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Lawfulness of the summary dismissal for gross misconduct under the repealed Employment Act cap 226
The grounds relied on by the Respondent did not fall within Section 17 of cap 226 and the dismissal was carried out without natural justice; the Claimant was entitled to one month's notice and one month's salary as damages
The Court examined Section 17 of the repealed Employment Act cap 226, which enumerates matters amounting to gross misconduct justifying summary dismissal. The conduct alleged (a fight with a member of the public) was not among the enumerated grounds. The law therefore required one month's notice. Additionally, the Claimant was never summoned before the Board and no investigation outcome was communicated, offending natural justice.
Effective date of termination and entitlement to salary during suspension
The effective date of termination was 28th March 2007; the Claimant is entitled to pay from July 2006 to March 2007, totalling Kshs. 160,650/-
The Claimant was suspended on 23rd June 2006 and the Board's decision was communicated through a termination letter dated 28th March 2007. Doubt existed whether the letter was dispatched earlier, but services were subsisting until termination. Since no termination can be retroactive, the employment subsisted from suspension to March 2007 and pay accrued for that period, less the dues already paid for June 2006.
Legal principles established
#- No termination of employment can be made retroactively; the effective date of termination is the date the termination decision was communicated
- An employee whose employment subsists between suspension and termination is entitled to pay for that period
- Where the grounds relied on by the employer are not enumerated under Section 17 of the repealed Employment Act cap 226 as amounting to gross misconduct, the proper course is to give one month's notice
- A termination carried out without regard to natural justice entitles the employee to damages of one month's salary under the pre-2007 law
Court orders
#- 1.Payment of Kshs. 160,650/- being salary for the period the employment subsisted from July 2006 to March 2007
- 2.Payment of Kshs. 17,850/- being one month's salary in lieu of notice
- 3.Payment of one month's salary as damages for termination carried out without regard to natural justice
- 4.Costs of the suit to the Claimant
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Jurisdiction denied by the Respondent but confirmed in a Ruling dated 10th February 2012 by Judge Kosgey; the Court heard and determined the employment claim in the first instance
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Joyce Wambui Muraguri v Registered Trustees P.C.E.A Kikuyu Hospital [2014] KEELRC 210 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2014). Cause No 1172 of 2010. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2014/210/eng@2014-06-26
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.