Stephen Mutua Wambua v Metal Crowns Limited [2019] KEELRC 709 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan employer who fires an employee for poor performance without a documented hearing must pay 12 months' gross salary as compensation.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the termination for poor performance was substantively and procedurally fair
Termination was unlawful and unfair; the Respondent failed to justify the grounds or prove fair procedure under Sections 41 and 43
Section 41(2) requires an employer terminating for poor performance to hear and consider the employee's representations. The Respondent, though it filed submissions, adduced no evidence of investigations, records of poor performance, or that the Claimant was given room to improve. The Claimant's evidence was therefore unrebutted, and the Respondent failed under Sections 41 and 43.
Whether the Claimant was entitled to the various monetary and other reliefs claimed
Only 12 months' salary compensation for wrongful termination awarded; other claims failed for lack of proof or jurisdiction
The Court distinguished the Taifa Sacco case and noted the Claimant did not prove coercion in signing the clearance certificate nor claim all terminal dues. Compensation for disturbance was not founded in law; the bank loan, annual leave and Sacco savings claims were unproved; the work permit revocation claim failed for non-joinder, want of evidence and lack of jurisdiction. Compensation was set at 12 months' gross salary given 15 years' service, the Respondent's failure to adduce evidence, and the unique circumstances.
Legal principles established
#- An employer terminating for poor performance must hear and consider the employee's representations and prove both valid reason and fair procedure
Court orders
#- 1.A declaration that the Claimant's employment was unlawfully and unfairly terminated (found as such by the Court)
- 2.Compensation for wrongful termination of 12 months' gross salary
- 3.The Respondent to pay the Claimant's costs of the suit
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under the Employment Act, 2007 (the judgment does not cite a specific constitutional provision)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Stephen Mutua Wambua v Metal Crowns Limited [2019] KEELRC 709 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2019). Not stated in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2019/709/eng@2019-09-27
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.