Andrew Mwangi Wachira v Egerton University, Currently Laikipia University [2021] KEELRC 601 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court ruled that a fixed-term contract that simply expires is not unfair termination, and wage claims older than three years are time-barred.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Limitation under section 90 of the Employment Act
The claim filed on 9th November 2015 was within the three-year period because the contract expired on 28th November 2012, but the underpayment claims for the period before 2012 were time barred.
The court took the date the contract expired (28th November 2012, per the memorandum of claim) as the accrual of the cause of action. Filed on 9th November 2015, the suit fell within the three-year window of section 90. However, the wage underpayment claim related to the period before 2012, more than three years before filing, and was therefore barred, with the court declining to examine its merits.
Expiry of a fixed term contract versus unfair termination
The claimant signed a three-month fixed term contract which expired on 28th November 2012 and was not renewed; this was termination by effluxion of time, not unfair termination or redundancy.
The claimant admitted on cross-examination that he signed the fixed term contract, which ended in November 2012. The court held that non-renewal of a contract whose end was clearly determinable cannot found a claim of unfair termination or bad-faith redundancy, and the claimant's signature bound him to the agreed terms.
Claims for underpayments, leave and gratuity
The underpayment claim for the pre-2012 period was time barred; the remaining claims fell with the dismissal of the claim as unmerited.
Because the wage underpayment claim related to a period more than three years before filing, the court found it statute barred and declined to delve into its merits. The leave, leave travelling allowance, notice pay and gratuity claims were premised on the termination and underpayment claims, and with those failing, the whole claim was dismissed with no order as to costs.
Legal principles established
#- A fixed term contract that expires by effluxion of time and is not renewed is not an unfair termination and gives rise to no claim of termination or redundancy.
- An employment claim filed within three years of the expiry of the contract is not time barred under section 90 of the Employment Act.
- Claims for underpayment of wages accruing more than three years before filing are statute barred under section 90 of the Employment Act.
Court orders
#- 1.The claim is dismissed with no order as to costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under the Employment Act, 2007 (section 90 invoked on limitation)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Andrew Mwangi Wachira v Egerton University, Currently Laikipia University [2021] KEELRC 601 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2021). Not stated in the judgment (ELRC cause; referenced authorities suggest Cause number not reproduced). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2021/601/eng@2021-11-02
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.