Everline Manuni v Mudete Tea Factory [2018] KEELRC 359 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court ruled that renewing a worker's short contract for over ten years makes her a permanent employee, and ending it without notice was unfair.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the claimant was a seasonal employee or in continuous employment
Though engaged on successive fixed-term contracts, the claimant was in continuous employment from May 2003 to December 2013.
The court considered the evidence, especially that the claimant maintained the same payroll number 1259 throughout the period and the number of payslips produced showed she worked continuously in most cases. The respondent did not comment on the same payroll number. This outweighed the respondent's assertion of intermittent seasonal engagements dependent on tea processing capacity.
Whether the termination was unlawful/unfair
Termination by non-renewal without notification was unfair.
Having found continuous employment for over ten years under repeatedly renewed three-month contracts, the claimant acquired a legitimate expectation of renewal or adequate notice of non-renewal. Termination without notification of non-renewal, and without reasons, was therefore unfair notwithstanding the respondent's reliance on effluxion of time and low supply of green tea leaves.
Remedies payable
Three months' salary in lieu of notice and 12 months' salary as compensation awarded; house allowance, service pay and leave claims disallowed.
Three months' notice was reasonable since each contract was for three months. Compensation of 12 months reflected over ten years of service, the lack of job security under short-term contracts, absence of terminal benefits, and the abrupt termination without the claimant's contribution. House allowance was excluded because pay was consolidated, service pay because of NSSF membership, and leave because it was paid at the end of each contract.
Legal principles established
#- A fixed-term contract continuously renewed for over ten years gives rise to a legitimate expectation of renewal or adequate notice of non-renewal, and termination without such notice is unfair.
- Continuous employment notwithstanding fixed-term contracts cannot be terminated by mere non-renewal without reasons.
Court orders
#- 1.Award of three months' salary in lieu of notice in the sum of Kshs.55,710
- 2.Award of 12 months' salary as compensation for unfair termination in the sum of Kshs.225,000
- 3.Respondent to issue the claimant a certificate of service within 30 days from date of judgment
- 4.Respondent to pay claimant's costs of the suit
- 5.Decretal sum to attract interest at court rates from date of judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under the Employment Act (first-instance employment claim; no specific constitutional provision cited)
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.
- Shafi v Mombasa Ocean Agency (K) Limited (Cause E125 of 2023) [2025] KEELRC 175 (KLR)[2025] KEELRC 175 (KLR)30 Jan 2025
- Apex Steel Limited v Dominic Mutuamuendo [2020] KEELRC 567 (KLR)[2020] KEELRC 567 (KLR)30 Jul 2020
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Everline Manuni v Mudete Tea Factory [2018] KEELRC 359 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2018). Cause No 360 of 2016. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2018/359/eng@2018-12-06
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.