Erick Oyier Omondi & 3 others v Catholic University of East Africa [2019] KEELRC 137 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court refused damages to lecturers paid their salaries late, but awarded them interest and costs for the delay and inconvenience.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the claimants were entitled to damages for the respondent's delay in paying salaries for 2015 and 2016
Damages were refused because the respondent admitted the arrears, paid them in full pursuant to a consent, and the delay was caused by financial constraints beyond its control from dwindling student enrolment.
The court weighed the respondent's admission and full payment under a consent dated 9th July 2018 against the claimants' entitlement to damages for late payment. Invoking proportionality and fairness in employment remedies, it held that the breach was unintended and that penalising the respondent after full payment would not be appropriate, though the claimants indisputably suffered inconvenience from the delay.
Whether the claimants were entitled to interest on the arrear salaries
Interest on the paid arrears was awarded at court rates from 1st January 2016 until payment in full.
Although damages were declined, the court found that the claimants suffered loss and great inconvenience from the late payment of salaries. To compensate for that loss, it exercised its discretion to order interest on the amounts previously owed and now paid, running from the start of 2016 to the date of full payment.
Legal principles established
#- A claimant whose employer admittedly delayed payment of salary but who has since been paid in full following a consent may be denied general damages where the breach was unintended and the delay occasioned by circumstances beyond the employer's control, but the court may still award interest on the delayed amounts as compensation for the loss and inconvenience suffered.
Court orders
#- 1.Each claimant is awarded interest on the arrear salaries previously owed but now paid, calculated at court rates from 1st January 2016 up to the time the full amounts were paid in full
- 2.The respondent is to pay the costs of the suit
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and labour relations jurisdiction under Article 41 of the Constitution and the Employment Act, 2007
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Erick Oyier Omondi & 3 others v Catholic University of East Africa [2019] KEELRC 137 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2019). Causes Nos. 457, 458, 459 and 460 of 2017 (Consolidated). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2019/137/eng@2019-12-09
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.