4.1 Introduction In Kenya, employment is governed by the general law of contract, as much as by the principles of common law. Thus, employment is basically seen as an individual relationship negotiated by the employee and the employer according to their special needs. Parliament has passed laws specifically dealing with different aspects of the employer-employee relationship. These laws define the terms and conditions of employment, and consist mainly of four Acts of Parliament: The Employment Act (Cap. 226) and the regulation of Wages and Conditions of Employment Act (Cap. 229) make rules governing wages, housing, leave and rest, health and safety, the special position of juveniles and women and termination of employment. The latter Act, in addition, sets up a process through which wages and conditions of employment can be regulated by the Minister. The Factories Act (Cap. 514) deals with the health, safety and welfare of an employee who works in a factory. The Workmen’s Compensation Act (Cap. 236) provides for ways through which an employee who is injured when on duty may be compensated by the employer. The Employment Act does not make any provisions for wages in general. The minimum wage is dealt with by the Regulations of Wages and Conditions of Employment Act. 4.2 Unlimited and fixed-term contracts of employment Employment contracts may be for fixed or unlimited periods of time. If an employment contract specifies a fixed period of employment, the contractual relationship is automatically terminated at the end of this period, without being considered a resignation or a dismissal. Under section 15 of the Employment Act, such a contract may be prolonged for a period of service up to 1 month, if the employee is engaged in any journey. Until the very recent past most female civil servants and parastatals staff were employed on fixed term contract. In general, temporarily and fixed term employed workers enjoy all the rights of an employee working on permanent terms, except those that are excluded explicitly (such as entitlement to pensions) or by the nature of a short term assignment (such as annual leave). An employment contract, which does not specify a fixed period of duration, is considered to be for an unlimited period of time, but can be terminated by notice of either party. However, in the organized sector collective agreements which give workers tenure limit the employers’ ability to discharge and end the employment contract. Other limitations on terminating an individual labour contract are the principle of good faith and the requirement of non-discriminatory reasons. Under section 14 (1) of the Employment Act it is a legal requirement that certain contracts of service be made in writing. These are contracts: For a continuous period of 6 months; Which are not continuous, but for which the periods still add up to six months; and In which the task to be performed may last for six months. Where a contract is in writing, it must carry a signature or a fingerprint of the employee showing that she or he has agreed to its terms. There must also be a witness who is not the employer. It is the duty of the employer to make sure that the contract is written when this is required by the law. 4.3 Special Contracts of Employment 4.3.1 Casual Employment and Piecework employment Both types of employment are defined under section 2 of the Employment Act. The “casual employee” is “an individual the terms of whose engagement provide for his payment at the end of each day and who is not engaged for a longer period than twenty-four hours at a time”, and Piece-rate “means any work the pay for which is estimated by the amount of work irrespective of the time occupied in its performance”. Basically these categories of workers enjoy to a large extent the same rights as other employees, but may be excluded from many benefits, such as leave, medical cover or housing. 4.3.2 Apprenticeship Contracts Apprenticeship contracts that primarily intend to train young people in a profession are considered contracts of employment. The apprentice therefore enjoys all the rights and suffers all the obligations of an employee, subject to the terms of the contract. The only distinction between an apprentice and an employee is that the ‘full’ employment of an apprentice depends on his or her successful completion of the training. Apprenticeships in the industrial sector are governed by the Industrial Training Act, which provides that the rules and principles governing the must be applied, unless the Act expressly states an exception, or when the application of labour law would not be compatible with the nature and aim of the vocational training being undertaken. The minimum period of an apprenticeship contract under the Industrial Training Act, section 2, is four years of service. 4.3.3 Probation Kenyan statutes do not relate to trial periods for individual labour contracts. However, collective agreements generally establish a trial period, after which the worker receives tenure. Trial periods range between 3 weeks (under the Regulation of Wages (Tailoring Garment Making and Associated Trades) Order) and 3 years (the latter in the civil service). Government workers receive tenure according to the requirements set out in the Civil Servants Law (Appointments) and the Civil Service Rules, which are determined by the Civil Service Department of the Government. An employer may dismiss the worker during the trial period or at its conclusion, depending on the contract terms. Nevertheless, this termination of contract must be done in good faith. When the dismissal is unfair or causes the worker unusual injury, the court may award him damages. 4.4 Suspension of the contract of employment Under the Trade Disputes Act the labour contract is suspended if a worker participates in a lawful strike or is affected by a lawful locked out. Therefore, the employee does not violate his or her contractual obligations to his or her employer when he or she participates in a strike. Likewise, lockouts do not terminate the employment relationship. When the labour contract is suspended
