Caroline Kwamboka Kinyulusi v National Environment Trust Fund [2020] KEELRC 1699 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Keeping a fixed-term employee working after the contract expired converted it to month-to-month, so NETFUND's 10-day termination notice was unfair.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether continued retention after expiry of a fixed term contract and appointment to committees created a legitimate expectation of renewal
Yes - the respondent's commissions and omissions created a legitimate expectation of renewal or, failing that, reasonable notice
The petitioner was kept on the payroll for over three months after her contract lapsed, was appointed to committees for periods beyond her fixed term, and colleagues whose contracts expired with hers were renewed. Applying Teresa Carlo Omondi, these objective circumstances generated a valid expectation of renewal or of reasonable notice should the contract not be renewed.
Whether the 10 days' notice of termination given after the retention period was lawful
No - the petitioner was deemed to be on a month-to-month contract and 10 days' notice was unreasonable, tantamount to summary dismissal
Having held over, the petitioner converted to a month-on-month contract. Reasonable notice in the circumstances of keeping her in limbo for over three months would have been three months. The 10-day notice of 20th September 2018 terminating her on 1st October 2018 was equivalent to summary dismissal for gross misconduct, which was not the case here.
Whether the constitutional remedies of certiorari, permanent injunction and mandamus were available
No - the prayers were misplaced in a private employment contract
Certiorari cannot quash a private employer's termination letter, an employer cannot be permanently restrained from terminating a contract terminable under its terms, and mandamus cannot issue in the manner framed. Even substantively, the notice date of 1st October 2018 had long passed and any renewed contract would have expired on 5th June 2020.
Legal principles established
#- Where an employee holds over after expiry of a fixed term contract, the contract converts to a month-on-month contract terminable on reasonable notice; a short notice period in such circumstances is tantamount to summary dismissal
- An employer need not give reasons for non-renewal of a fixed term contract; but where it volunteers reasons, it opens itself to inquiry whether those reasons are genuine and valid
- Prerogative orders (certiorari, mandamus, permanent injunction) are inapplicable to private employment contracts
Court orders
#- 1.The prayers for certiorari, permanent injunction and mandamus declined as misplaced in a private employment contract
- 2.The respondent is at liberty to elect either to treat the term between 5th June 2018 and the date of judgment as a renewal of the contract, or to treat the petitioner as being on a month to month contract terminable by notice as per contract
- 3.No orders for costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction over fair labour practices (Article 41 of the Constitution invoked in the petition); Employment and Labour Relations Court (Procedure) Rules 2016 considered
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.
- Were v Krishna Chemists (Cause E500 of 2023) [2024] KEELRC 1645 (KLR)[2024] KEELRC 1645 (KLR)25 Jun 2024
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Caroline Kwamboka Kinyulusi v National Environment Trust Fund [2020] KEELRC 1699 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2020). Not stated in the judgment (Petition and Notice of Motion filed 2nd October 2018, consolidated). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2020/1699/eng@2020-01-31
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.