Justus Ochieng Andayi v Kenya Pipeline Company Limited [2015] KEELRC 549 (KLR)

The disciplinary committee found the Claimant did not leave the control room and found no evidence linking him to the unexplained movement of product. Police investigations implicated Mr Mwadime, not the Claimant, who was a state witness. The employer nevertheless dismissed the entire team on duty, disregarding its own disciplinary panel's recommendation of a warning. An employer is bound by its internal procedures, and dismissal without further investigation or hearing was unjustified under the contract, CBA and Employment Act, 2007.

The Claimant was not asked to show cause before or after suspension, though he explained himself at the hearing. The dismissal letter purported to derive from the disciplinary committee's findings of 21st April 2011, yet the committee had recommended only a warning. The letter also alluded to earlier unrelated incidents never put to him at the hearing. The Chief Human Resource Manager and Managing Director decided on dismissal without any further hearing, violating the Respondent's disciplinary procedure and the CBA.

Reinstatement was declined because the employer no longer trusted the Claimant and the position had been filled. Considering that the Claimant was a young technical employee, lost over four years of employment, was unpaid during his five-month suspension, was falsely implicated and subjected to police investigations, the court awarded ten months' salary as compensation, one month's notice pay and one month's salary in lieu of 28.30 accrued leave days.