Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers v Sanpack Africa Limited [2016] KEELRC 629 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan employment court corrected its own math error on a compensation award but refused to revisit findings the employer never challenged in time.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the discrepancy between the awarded six months' compensation and the eight-month computation constituted an error apparent on the face of the record
Yes - the computation was reviewed and corrected so that the compensation reflects six months' salary for each grievant
The judgment had expressly awarded six months' salary compensation for unlawful and unfair termination, but the calculation applied eight months. Since the stated award and the arithmetic did not match, the discrepancy was an error apparent on the face of the record, warranting correction under the review jurisdiction under rules 27 and 32 of the ELRC (Procedure) Rules 2010. The court recalculated each grievant's award accordingly.
Whether the finding that the blow mound machine was a large item carried by vehicle and loaded by forklift should be reviewed
No - the finding of fact stands
The suit had proceeded on the pleadings, documents and written submissions. The court had relied on the claimant's uncontroverted submissions to find the blow mound was not a small item. The respondent, though served, did not reply to those assertions in its final written submissions. In the absence of any rebuttal or basis shown, the court declined to review its own finding of fact.
Legal principles established
#- A court on review may correct an error apparent on the face of the record where the award stated in the judgment differs from the computation in the judgment itself
- A finding of fact based on uncontroverted and unchallenged submissions is not a proper ground for review
Court orders
#- 1.The application for review is allowed to correct the error on the face of the record in computing compensation
- 2.Total award to Bildad Kimani Njeri is Kshs 130,054.00
- 3.Total award to Stephen Omondi Meda is Kshs 85,116.00
- 4.The awards are payable with interest at court rates from 18th March 2015 (date of judgment) till payment in full
- 5.The respondent to pay costs of the suit excluding costs for this application
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Rules 27 and 32 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court (Procedure) Rules 2010 (review jurisdiction)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers v Sanpack Africa Limited [2016] KEELRC 629 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2016). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2016/629/eng@2016-09-09
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.