Rhoda Faith Angwenyi v Narok County Republic Service Board & 2 others [2020] KEELRC 1644 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court ruled that when a fixed-term contract simply expires, non-renewal is not unfair termination, so the nurse's claims failed.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether non-renewal of a fixed term contract constitutes unfair termination
No. The last written contract expired on 30 September 2017 and was not renewed; the employment ended by effluxion of time and neither party was bound thereafter
The parties regulated their relationship through annual written fixed term contracts running from 1 October to 30 September. The last contract expired on 30 September 2017 and was not renewed. Renewal is the employer's prerogative. Absent a subsisting contract, the claimant was not bound to attend work and the respondent was not bound to allocate work or pay. The claim of unfair termination therefore lacked foundation, and no notice pay or compensation arises.
Whether absence due to sickness excuses the employee from notifying the employer and producing a medical certificate
No. Even where sick and admitted, the employee must inform the employer within a reasonable time and, upon return, produce a medical certificate from a recognised medical facility
Sections 30 and 34 of the Employment Act require an employee who is sick to notify the employer within a reasonable time; a third party may communicate where the employee cannot. Upon return the employee must produce a medical certificate from a recognised facility. Although the claimant filed documents showing hospital visits, she did not satisfy the mandatory requirement of a medical certificate proving the need to be absent for the dates alleged.
Whether the claimant was entitled to salary for October 2017 to January 2018
No. There was no contract after 30 September 2017 obliging payment, and the absence was without good cause, permitting deduction under section 19(1)(c)
Employment ended on 30 September 2017 with the lapse of the last fixed term contract, so nothing bound the respondent to allocate work or pay salary thereafter. Even if pay were due for work done, the claimant herself testified she was not at work from October 2017 due to sickness, which the court found to be absence without good cause. Section 19(1)(c) permits deduction of a day's wages for each day absent without leave or lawful cause.
Whether annual leave pay was due for the period February 2010 to January 2018
No. Claims outside three years are time-barred under section 90, and within the limitation period the claimant's absences exceeded her 30-day entitlement, including the admitted six-month absence in 2015
The claim was filed on 22 February 2018, so leave claims could only be assessed from 21 February 2015; earlier claims are time-barred under section 90 of the Employment Act. Each contract allowed 30 days annual leave. The claimant's own records show absences exceeding that entitlement, and she admitted a six-month paid absence in 2015, which the court held should be repaid. Granting leave pay would reward gross misconduct.
Whether the claimant was entitled to a certificate of service
Yes. A certificate of service is due for the actual period of service under section 51 of the Employment Act
Despite the failure of the other claims, section 51 of the Employment Act entitles an employee to a certificate of service for the period of service actually rendered. The court accordingly ordered its issuance even while dismissing the rest of the claim and awarding costs to the respondents.
Legal principles established
#- A fixed term contract ends on its own terms upon the expiry of its fixed period, and non-renewal is not unfair termination
- An employee absent due to illness must inform the employer within a reasonable time and produce a medical certificate from a recognised medical facility under sections 30 and 34 of the Employment Act
- An employer may deduct wages for each day an employee absents himself without leave or lawful cause under section 19(1)(c) of the Employment Act
Court orders
#- 1.Issuance of a certificate of service to the claimant for the period of service under section 51 of the Employment Act, 2007
- 2.Dismissal of all other claims (unfair termination compensation, notice pay, annual leave pay, and salary from October 2017 to January 2018)
- 3.The claimant shall pay costs to the respondents
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under Article 162(2) of the Constitution; dispute governed by the Employment Act, 2007
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- Attorney General & another v Muiu & another (Civil Appeal E146 of 2021) [2025] KECA 816 (KLR)[2025] KECA 816 (KLR)9 May 2025
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Rhoda Faith Angwenyi v Narok County Republic Service Board & 2 others [2020] KEELRC 1644 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2020). Cause No. 61 of 2018. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2020/1644/eng@2020-02-06
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.