Banking, Insurance & Finance Union (Kenya) v Access Bank (Kenya) Plc [2021] KEELRC 264 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court ordered a bank to pay seven employees their withheld October salaries because status quo orders had preserved their employment.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the grievants were entitled to October 2021 salaries notwithstanding the pending main application
Yes; the status quo orders preserved their employment, and payment of October 2021 salaries followed as a matter of course.
The court found that when the claimant moved the court the grievants were in employment, and orders of 17th September 2021 and subsequent attendances directed maintenance of the status quo pending the ruling. The respondent admitted the grievants' employment had not been terminated and they remained in employment. Therefore they were entitled to the same salaries/wages paid to other employees, and withholding pay breached the orders and section 46 of the Employment Act.
The nature and effect of a status quo order
A status quo order is an ancillary order preserving the situation as it exists pending hearing; it is distinct from an injunction and does not depend on proof of a prima facie case.
Relying on KALPA v Co-operative Bank and the Baobab Beach Resort judicial review authority, the court explained that status quo preserves the substratum of the dispute so that neither party is prejudiced such that the position cannot be restored. The orders of 17th September 2021 preserved the suit's substratum to allow exchange of pleadings and hearing of the certified urgent application.
Legal principles established
#- A status quo order preserves the subject matter as it existed on the day the order was made so the dispute is not rendered nugatory.
- An order for status quo is ancillary and does not depend on proof of a prima facie case, unlike an injunction.
- Where employment is preserved by status quo orders, the employee remains entitled to salaries and wages like other employees; withholding pay contrary to such orders is contempt and contrary to section 46 of the Employment Act.
Court orders
#- 1.The respondent shall pay the grievants salary and allowances for the month of October, 2021 and all/any other dues outstanding and unpaid forthwith
- 2.Such dues unpaid to date shall be paid with interest at court rates from the date due and until paid in full
- 3.The claimant is awarded costs of the application
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Not expressly stated; matter determined under the Employment Act, 2007 in a cause pending before the Employment and Labour Relations Court
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Banking, Insurance & Finance Union (Kenya) v Access Bank (Kenya) Plc [2021] KEELRC 264 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2021). Not stated in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2021/264/eng@2021-11-18
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.