Nyangendo v Road Focus Consulting Limited (Cause E002 of 2021) [2023] KEELRC 812 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court awarded an employee over Kshs. 520,000 because her employer cut her pay and fired her without written agreement or fair procedure.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Variation of contractual terms without written consent
The terms agreed on 20th June 2016 stand; the alleged salary reduction and re-assignment were not documented, so underpayments of Kshs. 440,000 are due as claimed
Under Sections 13 and 10(5) of the Employment Act, any material change to contract particulars must be documented, issued in writing and executed by the employee. The respondent produced no evidence of such written variation. The court therefore held the original contractual terms intact and awarded the claimed underpayments.
Fair termination procedure
Employment was terminated without due process and was unlawful and unfair under Section 45 of the Act
The notice to show cause dated 14th May 2018 was not received by the claimant, no termination notice was issued, and the claim of absconding was not substantiated or brought to closure. The mandatory Section 41 procedure for poor performance was not followed, rendering the termination substantively and procedurally unfair. One month's pay was awarded as compensation for just over one year of service.
Discrimination on grounds of pregnancy
Discrimination was not proved; placement difficulties arose from the mismatch between the claimant's qualifications and the position
Although the claimant was 8 months pregnant at termination, the court found she had not formally brought the pregnancy to the respondent's attention, and the re-assignments stemmed from the respondent's own error in hiring her for a position for which she was unsuited. The court declined to infer discriminatory motive from the restructuring of her duties.
Legal principles established
#- Any change to an employment contract must be made in consultation with the employee, reduced to writing and consented to by the employee
- Before terminating on grounds of misconduct, poor performance or incapacity, the employer must in mandatory terms explain the reasons to the employee and hear representations
- An employee who deserts employment does not dismiss himself; the decision to end employment must come from the innocent party
Court orders
#- 1.Compensation Ksh. 80,000
- 2.Underpayments Ksh. 440,000
- 3.The claimant shall undertake clearance and be issued with the Certificate of Service in accordance with Section 51 of the Employment Act, 2007
- 4.Each party shall bear own costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under the Employment Act, 2007 and Article 27 of the Constitution (as pleaded by the parties; no specific jurisdictional provision invoked in the judgment)
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.
- Nguli v Southern Sky Safaris Limited & another (Cause E091 of 2023) [2025] KEELRC 50 (KLR)[2025] KEELRC 50 (KLR)23 Jan 2025applied
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Nyangendo v Road Focus Consulting Limited (Cause E002 of 2021) [2023] KEELRC 812 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2023). Not stated in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2023/812/eng@2023-03-27
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.