Banking Insurance and Finance Union (K) v Co-operative Bank of Kenya Limited [2019] KEELRC 1231 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court found Co-operative Bank unfairly dismissed a teller who followed her manager's instructions, awarding her eleven months' salary even though the disciplinary procedure itself was fair.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Procedural fairness of the termination
The procedure followed was fair: the grievant was issued a show cause letter, responded to it, and attended a disciplinary hearing accompanied by a colleague.
The court noted that termination is a normal stage in employment and courts will not second-guess it if done for good reasons, with procedure in accordance with law, HR procedures and natural justice. The grievant received a show cause letter, responded, and was heard by the disciplinary committee with a colleague present, satisfying the Employment Act principles.
Valid reason for termination
No valid reason existed; the debit was made on the Branch Manager's instructions relayed from the customer, the money was kept safely in the vault, the customer collected it without complaint, and no breach of the Operations Manual or risk of loss was demonstrated.
The respondent's witnesses did not demonstrate in what way the grievant breached the Operations Manual, and conceded she would have been guilty of insubordination had she disobeyed. The manager's letter corroborated her account; the customer collected the money the next day without complaint; the vault was conceded to be safe; and no impropriety was alleged against her.
Legal principles established
#- A termination may follow a fair procedure yet be unfair for want of a valid reason; where the employee acted on instructions from her manager and no loss or impropriety is shown, there is no valid reason for termination.
Court orders
#- 1.Judgment entered in favour of the grievant against the respondent
- 2.One month's salary in lieu of notice of Kshs 70,044
- 3.Ten months' salary as compensation for unfair termination of Kshs 700,440
- 4.Items (a) and (b) to attract interest at court rates from date of judgment but subject to taxes and statutory deductions
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under the Employment Act (section 41(1) pleaded)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Banking Insurance and Finance Union (K) v Co-operative Bank of Kenya Limited [2019] KEELRC 1231 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2019). Cause 864 of 2014. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2019/1231/eng@2019-06-28
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.