Richard O. Pamba & another v Registered Trustees, Kenya Community Development Foundation [2020] KEELRC 1261 (KLR)

The termination letter dated 31 January 2014 cited re-organization to achieve greater effectiveness, effective 1 February 2014, implying no notice was given. Under Section 40(1) of the Employment Act, an employer must notify the employee personally in writing and the labour officer at least a month before termination on account of redundancy, pay leave in cash, one month's notice or wages in lieu, and fifteen days' pay per completed year as severance. No evidence of notice or terminal benefits was produced, so the redundancy failed the statutory test.

The respondent abandoned the redundancy position in its evidence, alleging misappropriation, inefficiency and forgery. However, the reason stated in the termination letter was re-organization, not misconduct. No audit report or documentary proof of the misconduct was produced in court, and RW1 conceded no documents were produced since the deceased was not alive to defend herself. The meeting of 13 January 2014 was inconsistently described as disciplinary and non-disciplinary, and the deceased was not informed of her right to be accompanied. The allegations therefore could not sustain the termination.

The Claimants relied on Walter Ogal Anuro v Teachers Service Commission for the principle that termination requires both substantive justification and procedural fairness. The deceased was not issued notice of the meeting of 13 January 2014, nor informed of her right to be accompanied by an employee or shop floor union official. The respondent's reliance on Carolyne Munala v Hoggers Limited (that storming out of a hearing forfeits the right to be heard) did not assist, as the court found no evidence of any hearing or opportunity to defend the alleged misconduct.