George Nyandiko v China Jiangxi International Kenya Limited [2016] KEELRC 839 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court awarded a redundant employee Shs.81,750, but he lost bigger claims because he never properly disputed his employer's evidence.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Claimant was unfairly terminated
No unfair termination was found because the Claimant did not contest the reason given in the termination notice.
The Claimant pleaded unilateral termination on 1st April 2014, but the termination letter stated the termination resulted from completion of the project he was working on. The Respondent pleaded redundancy. Since the Claimant did not contest the reason given in the termination notice, the court found no evidence of unfair termination.
Whether the Claimant was declared redundant
The Respondent admitted the termination was a redundancy, so no further inquiry was needed.
Redundancy is defined under section 2 of the Employment Act, and section 40 provides the procedure and terminal dues payable. The Respondent pleaded that the contract for which the Claimant was engaged expired on 30th April 2014, ending contracts for all employees, and admitted the termination was a redundancy. The court held this admission conclusive on the issue.
Whether the Claimant is entitled to house allowance
Not entitled, as house allowance was included in his consolidated monthly salary per the letter of appointment.
The letter of appointment stated the salary was Shs.30,000 inclusive of house allowances, taxes and benefits. The Claimant denied the letter's authenticity only in written submissions, without filing a reply to defence. The court held submissions cannot substitute evidence, found the letter authentic, and rejected the house allowance claim.
Entitlement to severance pay
Severance pay awarded at 15 days' salary for one completed year of service, being Shs.15,000.
The Claimant's proposed calculation of 125.25 x 8 x 30 x 2 was unintelligible to the court. Under section 40(1)(g), severance pay is 15 days' salary per completed year. Having worked from 1st August 2012 to 30th April 2014, the Claimant completed only one full year, justifying the award of Shs.15,000.
Entitlement to leave earned but not taken
Awarded 36.75 days' leave for the period worked, valued at Shs.36,750, because the employer failed to produce leave records.
Under sections 10(7) and 74 of the Employment Act, the employer must keep employment records, including annual leave entitlement and days taken, and produce them in proceedings; failure shifts the burden to the employer. The Respondent produced no such records, so the court awarded leave at 1.75 days per month for the 21 months worked.
One month's salary in lieu of notice
Awarded as offered by the Respondent on ex gratia basis, being Shs.30,000.
The court found the Claimant was given one month's notice by letter dated 1st April 2014 notifying termination on 30th April 2014. Since the Respondent had offered one month's salary in lieu of notice on ex gratia basis, the court awarded the Claimant the same as offered.
Legal principles established
#- Written submissions cannot be used to substitute evidence; they can only state legal positions.
- It is the employer's responsibility under sections 10(7) and 74 of the Employment Act to keep and produce employment records; failing which the burden falls on the employer to prove facts that should have been in such records.
- Severance pay is calculated at 15 days' salary per completed year of service under section 40(1)(g) of the Employment Act.
- Where an employer admits that termination was a redundancy, the court need not inquire further into the issue.
Court orders
#- 1.One month's salary in lieu of notice offered by the Respondent awarded at Shs.30,000
- 2.Severance pay at 15 days' salary for one completed year of service awarded at Shs.15,000
- 3.Leave earned but not taken awarded at Shs.36,750
- 4.Total award of Shs.81,750 to the Claimant
- 5.Claimant awarded only 50% of costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and labour relations jurisdiction of the Employment & Labour Relations Court (Cause filed under the Employment Act)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (2)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- Norah Kerubo Tagiri v Kenyenya FCS Limited[2026] KEELRC 2632 (KLR)29 Sept 2026
- Protective Custody Limited v Omukuba (Appeal E036 of 2021) [2023] KEELRC 2817 (KLR)[2023] KEELRC 2817 (KLR)9 Nov 2023followed
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "George Nyandiko v China Jiangxi International Kenya Limited [2016] KEELRC 839 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2016). Cause No. 184 of 2014. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2016/839/eng@2016-05-26
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.