Flodida Construction Machinery Limited v Wanyonyi (Cause E017 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 3033 (KLR)

The respondent, as Operations Manager, handled monetary transactions for the claimant under the employment contract dated 1st August 2023 and stood in a fiduciary position analogous to a director or trustee. The claim for the specific sum received in the course of employment but not handed over is analogous to an action for money had and received, a dispute arising out of employment under Section 12(1)(a). Section 12(2) permits suits by or against an employee, and Section 12(3) empowers the court to award special and general damages.

The court found the claimant's case was for a specific sum of Kshs.28,167,721.00 received by the respondent in the course of employment but not handed over, not a claim for general damages. Section 12(3)(i)-(viii) provides an elaborate list of reliefs including special and general damages, plus any other appropriate relief, so the nature of relief sought does not oust jurisdiction.

Although a contract of employment is not one of utmost good faith per se, it has elements of that principle, particularly where the employee handles money. The respondent, as Operations Manager overseeing all aspects of the quarry business and dealing with customers daily, stood in a fiduciary position analogous to a director, partner or trustee, precluded from profiting from dealings with third parties at the employer's expense.