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ELRCDismissedNot stated in the excerpt· [2024] KEELRC 1649 (KLR)

Nderi v Syngenta Pollen Limited (Cause E009 of 2022) [2024] KEELRC 1649 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
24 June 2024
NMNzioki Wa Makau
3,322 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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Kenya's Employment Court dismissed a senior manager's unfair termination suit, holding his dismissal for gross misconduct followed a fair process under section 41 of the Employment Act.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Claimant, employed from 2005 on permanent and pensionable terms and rising from intern to Technical Operations Lead earning Kshs. 205,603/- monthly, sued the Respondent Company for unfair and unlawful termination, unfair labour practices and discrimination. He was issued a Notice to Show Cause dated 28th July 2021 with ten charges, dismissed summarily on 10th August 2021, and his appeal was dismissed with effect from 3rd September 2021. He alleged the charges were vague, he was denied disclosure, the investigators sat on the disciplinary committee, and he was discriminated against on health status while on sick leave. He sought declarations, damages of Kshs. 2,672,839/-, Kshs. 46,877,484/- for the remainder of his tenure, and Kshs. 500,000/- constitutional damages. The Respondent maintained he was dismissed for gross misconduct - harassment, assault, and exploitation of junior staff for personal work - and that fair procedure was followed. Eight witnesses testified to verbal abuse, physical assaults and forced unpaid labour. The Respondent filed no submissions. Relying on the witnesses' testimony, the court found the Claimant deserving of dismissal, held that the show cause letter, hearing, appeal, notification of verdict and payment of terminal dues satisfied section 41 of the Employment Act and natural justice, and dismissed the suit with costs to the Respondent.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the termination was substantively justified

Holding

The court found valid and fair reasons for the summary dismissal, accepting testimony of the Claimant's gross misconduct including harassment, assault and exploitation of junior employees

Reasoning

Eight witnesses testified to the Claimant's verbal abuse, physical assaults, forced unpaid personal work and misuse of company resources. The court credited this testimony, characterising the Claimant as obnoxious, rude, callous and intemperate, and concluded the Respondent had more than sufficient reason to terminate his services for gross misconduct.

p. 6
02

Whether the termination procedure was fair under section 41 of the Employment Act

Holding

The procedure was fair: the Claimant was notified of the allegations, given an opportunity to respond, attended a disciplinary hearing, was notified of the verdict and paid his terminal dues

Reasoning

The court found the show cause letter enumerated the allegations and the Claimant was granted an opportunity to respond. He attended the disciplinary hearing and later an appeal, which was heard and dismissed. Terminal dues and a Certificate of Service were issued. The court held the process met the natural justice paradigm.

p. 6

Legal principles established

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  • An employer satisfies section 41 of the Employment Act where it notifies the employee of the allegations, grants an opportunity to respond, holds a disciplinary hearing, notifies the employee of the verdict, and pays terminal dues

Court orders

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  1. 1.The suit is dismissed
  2. 2.Costs to the Respondent

Authorities

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Legislation

  • Constitution of KenyaArticle 27(1), (2) & (6)
  • Employment Actsection 5
  • Employment Actsection 41
  • Employment Actsection 43(1)
  • Employment Actsection 45(2)
  • Employment Actsection 49

Cases cited (5)

  • Kenfreight (E.A) Limited v Benson K. Nguti
    [2019] eKLR
  • Janeth Chepkemoi Machira & another v Laikipia University
    [2021] eKLR
  • Munir Sheikh Ahmed v National Bank of Kenya
    [2020] eKLR
  • Rebecca Ann Maina & 2 others v Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
    [2014] eKLR
  • Postal Corporation of Kenya v Andrew K. Tanui
    [2019] eKLR
Jurisdiction invoked
Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction over employment and labour disputes (Employment Act; Statement of Claim filed 11th January 2022)

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Later judgments citing this (1)

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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, "Nderi v Syngenta Pollen Limited (Cause E009 of 2022) [2024] KEELRC 1649 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Not stated in the excerpt. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2024/1649/eng@2024-06-24

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