Odanga v Board of Governors Gatuura Secondary School & another (Cause 1263 of 2017) [2025] KEELRC 2582 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court dismissed a teacher's unfair dismissal claim, confirming that a temporary oral contract validly ends when the TSC posts a permanent teacher.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the termination of the claimant's temporary employment was unfair
The termination was not unfair; the temporary post ended lawfully upon the Teachers Service Commission's deployment of a permanent teacher following competitive recruitment in which the claimant participated unsuccessfully
The claimant admitted her verbal contract was temporary and that TSC advertised the post, that she applied but was not interviewed, and that a teacher was deployed by letter dated 18th November 2016. The respondent's position that only TSC could employ a permanent teacher, and that retaining the claimant would waste public resources, was not controverted. Her allegation of termination for financial difficulty was defeated by her own admissions.
Whether the termination was procedurally unfair
No procedural unfairness arose; the claimant was informed of the deployment and paid for November and December 2016 although the school had closed and she did not work
Both parties admitted the employment was temporary and the post was filled competitively, ending the temporary engagement. TSC's constitutional mandate under Article 237(2) to recruit and employ registered teachers was exercised. The claimant was informed in October 2016 and paid her salary for November and December 2016 despite not working, so no procedural issue arose.
Whether the termination amounted to redundancy under section 40 of the Employment Act
The termination did not amount to redundancy; the claimant's temporary terms of service excluded a redundancy claim
Redundancy under the Employment Act is loss of employment through involuntary means where services are superfluous. The claimant admitted her terms were temporary, and the court had held the termination lawful pursuant to TSC's exercise of its constitutional mandate, in which process the claimant participated. Redundancy therefore could not apply and severance pay failed.
Whether the claimant was entitled to terminal dues (notice, housing, severance, leave, underpayment, compensation)
All heads of claim failed
Notice did not arise given valid termination without procedural unfairness; housing failed because the salary was a consolidated gross salary; severance failed as there was no redundancy; leave failed because teachers' leave is utilised during school vacations; underpayment was unproven; and compensation fell with the failure of the unfair termination claim.
Legal principles established
#- Section 8 of the Employment Act recognises oral contracts of employment as valid proof of an employer-employee relationship
- Fairness of termination requires both substantive fairness (valid and fair reason) and procedural fairness under section 41 of the Employment Act
- Teachers' annual leave is normally programmed to be utilised during school vacations
- Redundancy presupposes loss of employment through no fault of the employee where services are superfluous; a temporary engagement that ends upon competitive recruitment cannot found a redundancy claim
Court orders
#- 1.The claim is dismissed for lack of merit
- 2.No order as to costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction over employment and labour relations claims (Article 162(2) of the Constitution); claim filed under the Employment Act, 2007
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Odanga v Board of Governors Gatuura Secondary School & another (Cause 1263 of 2017) [2025] KEELRC 2582 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Memorandum of Claim dated 12th June 2017. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2582/eng@2025-09-26
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.