Edah Cherono Maiywa v University of Nairobi Enterprises and Services Limited [2020] KEELRC 447 (KLR)

Clause 4.5(v) of the HR Manual limits acting appointments to 6 months unless extended by the Board or MD. No formal extension was made and the recruitment was not concluded. The court rejected the respondent's claim that SRC and SCAC advice prevented recruitment, since no documentary evidence was produced and the second advert was published after the SRC letter. The claimant was treated differently from colleagues without objective justification, proving discrimination on a balance of probability.

The new duties (front office, transport logistics, stores) were materially different from the HR Officer role and the claimant was to report to the Office Manager rather than the SHRAO. Applying the ordinary meaning of demotion, the redeployment reduced her rank and status. It was imposed as punishment for alleged conduct issues without disciplinary process, violating section 10(5) of the Employment Act, Article 236(b) and Article 41(1) of the Constitution.

The court reinstated the claimant to her substantive HR Officer position but declined to confirm her to SHRAO since the position was not in the approved organogram, declined to halt the January 2019 recruitment as it did not affect her, held that only an acting allowance was payable (and it was paid), and declined general damages to promote good working relations despite finding discrimination established.