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ELRCPartially AllowedMombasa ELRC Appeal (2025)· [2025] KEELRC 2967 (KLR)

Tarmal Wire Products Limited v Mwachofi (Appeal E091 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 2967 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
30 October 2025
MMM. Mbarũ
809 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This first appeal was heard by the Employment and Labour Relations Court at Mombasa against the judgment of 22 May 2025 in Mombasa CMELRC No. E679 of 2022, in which the learned magistrate awarded the respondent, a driver whose employment ended in early 2022, Ksh.160,794.10 in house allowance and Ksh.91,960 in underpayments, with costs and interest. The appellant employer raised two grounds: that the magistrate erred in awarding housing allowance and in finding underpayment contrary to the law and evidence. The appellant maintained that the respondent was a medium-vehicle driver paid Ksh. 32,470, a wage inclusive of house allowance and above the minimum wage, under fixed-term contracts that lapsed by effluxion of time on 5 January 2022. The respondent maintained he was a heavy commercial truck driver paid Ksh. 28,000 without house allowance. Reviewing the record as a first appeal, the court noted successive three-month fixed-term contracts from 2019 to 2020, but no contract filed for the period ending 5 January 2022. Relying on its recent decisions on the validity of fixed-term contracts and on the absence of employment records, the court held that the Ksh. 28,000 paid exceeded the applicable minimum wage for a driver, which is inclusive of house allowance, so neither underpayment nor house allowance was due. The court allowed the appeal, set aside the award of underpayment and house allowance, and ordered each party to bear its own costs.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the respondent was underpaid

Holding

No underpayment; the Ksh. 28,000 paid exceeded the minimum wage for a driver, and no contract for the period to 5 January 2022 was filed

Reasoning

The court examined the employment records filed by the appellant and found fixed-term contracts for the 2019-2020 period. For the period ending 5 January 2022, no contract was filed. Absent a record of employment, the court applied the minimum wage of Ksh. 18,319.50 for a driver, and the respondent's testified wage of Ksh. 28,000 was above that minimum, so no underpayment arose.

p. 3
02

Whether the respondent was entitled to house allowance

Holding

No house allowance was due; the wage paid was above the minimum and inclusive of house allowance

Reasoning

The appellant's case was that the wage paid included house allowance. Since the wage exceeded the minimum wage, which is inclusive of house allowance, the claim could not stand. The court found the assertion of entitlement to house allowance incorrect even on the respondent's own framing of his role as a driver at a lower category.

p. 3
03

Validity of fixed-term contracts

Holding

Fixed-term contracts are valid and lawful; the respondent's successive three-month contracts were lawful

Reasoning

The court cited its own recent decisions to affirm that fixed-term contracts are valid and lawful forms of employment, and found that the contracts issued to the respondent were lawful. This supported the appellant's position that employment lapsed by effluxion of time rather than by unlawful termination.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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  • Fixed-term contracts of employment are valid and lawful forms of employment
  • On a first appeal the court reassesses the record while respecting the trial court's advantage of seeing witnesses
  • Without records of employment, an underpayment claim fails where the wage actually paid exceeds the applicable minimum wage, which is inclusive of house allowance

Court orders

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  1. 1.The judgment in Mombasa CMELRC No. E679 of 2022 is set aside on the award of underpayment and house allowance
  2. 2.The appeal is allowed
  3. 3.Each party to bear its costs

Authorities

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Cases cited (2)

  • Gyto Success Company Limited v Dalu
    [2025] KEELRC 587 (KLR)
  • Kesi v Krystalline Salt Limited
    [2025] KEELRC 1097 (KLR)
On appeal from
Magistrates' Court (ELRC), Mombasa
Mombasa CMELRC No. E679 of 2022
Jurisdiction invoked
First appeal from the trial court (magistrates' court) under employment law appellate provisions

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Tarmal Wire Products Limited v Mwachofi (Appeal E091 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 2967 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Mombasa ELRC Appeal (2025). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2967/eng@2025-10-30

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