Meriko v Jubilee Insurance Company Kenya Limited (Cause E704 of 2021) [2025] KEELRC 2856 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court awarded an executive 12 months' salary after her employer heaped extra roles on her without consultation, consent or extra pay.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Claimant was constructively dismissed
Yes - the Respondent varied her contract without consultation or compensation, demonstrating it no longer intended to be bound by it
The court found the Claimant's role expanded almost immediately from General Manager Life to General Manager Life and Pension, with acting responsibility for two other positions including one held by her supervisor, without any additional remuneration or formalization. The Respondent ignored her requests for salary review and did not act on her harassment complaints. Relying on section 10(5) of the Employment Act and constructive dismissal doctrine from Western Excavating and Coca Cola v Ligaga, the totality showed repudiatory conduct entitling her to treat herself as dismissed.
Whether the Claimant was discriminated against
No - discrimination on account of gender or at all was not proved
While accepting that her responsibilities grew significantly and she was uncompensated, the court was not persuaded that the failure to compensate her expanded role was due to her gender. No evidence of differential treatment of similarly placed male colleagues with objective justification was established.
Whether the Claimant is entitled to the remedies sought
Partially - maximum 12 months' compensation for constructive dismissal and the approved telephone allowance; other heads refused
Applying section 49 of the Employment Act and the 13 factors in section 49(4), the court considered her 11-month tenure, the expansion of her duties and her reasonable expectation of continued employment, concluding she proved a case for maximum compensation. Terminal dues claims were excluded as settled in mediation; extra-assignment compensation was subsumed in the dismissal award; disparity pay failed for want of evidence; the telephone allowance succeeded as it had been approved.
Legal principles established
#- Where an employer assigns an employee duties significantly different from their contract without consultation, consent or compensation, that may amount to a fundamental breach entitling the employee to claim constructive dismissal
- Where a matter stipulated in an employment contract changes, the employer must in consultation with the employee revise the contract and notify the change in writing
- An award of the maximum 12 months' compensation must be based on sound judicial principles and justified by the court
Court orders
#- 1.A declaration that the Claimant was constructively dismissed
- 2.An order that the Respondent pays the Claimant 12 months' salary as compensation for the constructive dismissal at Kshs. 15,600,000/-
- 3.Reimbursement of the telephone allowance from the date of approval [April-July] at Kshs. 20,000/-
- 4.The Respondent shall bear the costs of the suit
- 5.Interest shall accrue on the compensation and telephone allowance from the date of judgment until payment in full
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under the Employment Act (first-instance employment claim)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Meriko v Jubilee Insurance Company Kenya Limited (Cause E704 of 2021) [2025] KEELRC 2856 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Cause No E704 of 2021. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2856/eng@2025-10-23
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.