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ELRCDismissedCause No. 18 of 2020· [2022] KEELRC 829 (KLR)

Ronald Kipngeno Bii v Unliver Tea Kenya Limited [2022] KEELRC 829 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
10 February 2022
OMONESMUS N MAKAU
3,160 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~13 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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A Kenyan worker who voluntarily signed a redundancy settlement voucher could not later sue for unfair termination, even though the court found the process unlawful.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The claimant, employed as an Assistant Field Manager and confirmed on 11/5/2019, was terminated on 29/7/2019 on account of redundancy. He sued seeking a declaration of unfair termination, Kshs.2,081,397.14 compensation, general damages for discrimination and costs. The respondent admitted the redundancy but maintained it was substantively and procedurally lawful, and that the claimant was paid his terminal dues and signed a settlement agreement discharging further claims. The court framed three issues: justification of the redundancy, compliance with section 40 of the Employment Act, and the reliefs. On substance, the court found the claimant's position was abolished in a restructuring, holding that the decision was a managerial prerogative and the redundancy was justified. On procedure, however, the court found the mandatory notice requirements of section 40(1)(a) and (b) were violated: the Labour Officer was never notified and the claimant received no prior notice of redundancy. Despite declaring the termination unfair, discriminatory and unlawful, the court held that the claimant had voluntarily signed a discharge voucher with full knowledge of its import, pleaded no vitiating factors, and was therefore estopped from pressing further claims. Following Thomas De La Rue and Kimathi Mithika, the discharge voucher was upheld as a binding contract. The suit was dismissed, but costs were denied to the employer because it violated the law in effecting the termination.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the redundancy was justified

Holding

The respondent proved the claimant's position was abolished in a restructuring; the justification was upheld

Reasoning

The employer changed strategy and merged roles; the claimant's position of Assistant Field Manager was scrapped. The claimant alleged his position was refilled but produced no evidence. RW1's evidence rebutted the allegation. The court held the decision to abolish the position was a managerial prerogative and the redundancy was substantively justified.

p. 3
02

Whether the procedure followed complied with section 40 of the Employment Act

Holding

The procedure violated the mandatory notice requirements of section 40(1)(a) and (b)

Reasoning

RW1 admitted the Labour Officer was never notified and the claimant received no notice of redundancy prior to the termination letter dated 26.7.2019. The memo of 5.7.2019 concerned Management Level II only. The procedural failure denied the parties a chance to consult and possibly mitigate the redundancy consequences.

p. 3
03

Whether the signed settlement agreement/discharge voucher bars the claimant's suit

Holding

Yes - the claimant voluntarily signed the discharge voucher and is estopped from pressing further claims

Reasoning

Following Thomas De La Rue and Kimathi Mithika, the court examined whether the voucher was freely and willingly executed. The claimant admitted being paid his dues and never pleaded mistake, coercion, misrepresentation or undue influence. The voucher therefore constituted a binding contract waiving further claims.

p. 4

Legal principles established

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  • An employer's decision on the necessity of a position is a managerial prerogative not to be interfered with unless the procedure followed was wrong or unfair
  • A discharge voucher voluntarily executed with full knowledge binds the employee and estops further claims, though it does not bar the court from examining the fairness of termination

Court orders

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  1. 1.Suit dismissed as prayed by the respondent
  2. 2.No costs awarded to the employer

Authorities

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Legislation

  • Employment Actsection 40
  • Employment Actsection 40(1)(a) and (b)
  • Employment Actsection 47(5)
  • Employment Actsection 49(1)(c)
  • Employment Actsection 2
  • ELRC Procedure RulesRule 28(3)

Cases cited (10)

  • Fatma Ali Dabaso v First Community Bank Limited
    [2018] eKLR
  • Hesbon Ngaruiya Waigi v Equitorial Commercial Bank Limited
    [2013] eKLR
  • Agnes Ongadi v Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited
    [2016] eKLR
  • Kenya Airways v Aviation Workers Union Kenya
    [2014] eKLR
  • Addah Adhiambo Obiero v ArdInc
    [2014] eKLR
  • Thomas De La Rue v David Opondo Omutelema
    [2013] eKLR
  • Costal Bothers Limited –V– Kimathi Mithika
    [2018] eKLR
  • Charles Nyamoanga v Action Aid International
    [2015] eKLR
  • Patrick Ombati v Credit Bank Limited
    [2016] eKLR
  • CMC Aviation Limited v Mohamed Noor
    [2015] eKLR
Jurisdiction invoked
Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under the Employment Act and ELRC Procedure Rules

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Later judgments citing this (4)

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Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.

Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Ronald Kipngeno Bii v Unliver Tea Kenya Limited [2022] KEELRC 829 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2022). Cause No. 18 of 2020. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2022/829/eng@2022-02-10

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.