Benard Musyoka Ngwenzee & 167 others v Uzuri Foods Limited [2021] KEELRC 1400 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenyan court confirmed that unfair termination compensation is calculated on gross salary, but employees actually receive it after statutory deductions.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the tabulation of the judgment amounts should be based on the gross monthly wage or the net monthly wage
- 2.Which party's tabulation schedule should be adopted as the judgment amounts for each of the 170 claimants
Key legal issues
#Whether compensation for unfair termination should be tabulated on gross or net monthly wage
The gross monthly wage is the basis of computation under section 49(1)(c), but the amounts payable must be subjected to statutory deductions under section 49(2), so each claimant receives the net wage; the respondent's schedule reflecting both was adopted
The claimants tabulated using the total gross wage while the respondent used the total net wage. The court reconciled the two: section 49(1)(c) fixes the gross monthly wage as the computational base, while section 49(2) subjects such payments to statutory deductions. The respondent's schedule applied the gross wage and then deducted statutory deductions for each of the 170 claimants, and was therefore correct in law and adopted.
Legal principles established
#- Compensation for unfair termination under section 49(1)(c) of the Employment Act, 2007 is computed on the gross monthly wage, but any payments made are subject to statutory deductions under section 49(2), so the employee receives the net wage
- Where a judgment directs tabulation of awards for multiple claimants, the court may adopt a party's verified schedule as part of the judgment
Court orders
#- 1.The tabulation by the respondent dated 9th March, 2021 is adopted as the judgment amounts pursuant to paragraph 65 of the judgment delivered on 11th November, 2020, totalling Ksh. 22,503,852
- 2.Each claimant is entitled to one month's salary in lieu of notice and 8 months' salary compensation for loss of employment, with the gross wage subjected to statutory deductions, as set out in the adopted schedule
- 3.Orders delivered in open court at Nairobi on 23rd day of March, 2021
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court under the Employment Act, 2007 in the underlying unfair termination claim (Cause No. 1830 of 2015)
Relief refused
#The claimants' tabulation applying the total gross wage without deduction
The court held that dues under section 49 of the Employment Act must be subjected to statutory deductions, i.e. paid as net wage; the respondent's schedule which factored this was preferred
Costs
No costs order is recorded in the ruling
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
Whereas under section 49 (1) (c) of the Employment Act, 2007 the tabulation of dues payable to an employee should be based on the gross monthly wage; the equivalent of a number of month’s wages or salary not exceeding twelve months based on the gross monthly wage or salary of the employee at the time of dismissal.
Any payments made by the employer under this section shall be subject to statutory deductions.
Accordingly, the schedule by the respondent having factored the gross wage and subjected to statutory deductions and applied for each of the 170 claimants shall apply.
the tabulation by the respondent dated 9th March, 2021 is hereby adopted as the judgement amounts pursuant to paragraph 65 of the judgement delivered on 11th November, 2020 all at Ksh. 22,503,852
Orders Delivered accordingly. in open court at Nairobi this 23rd day of March, 2021. M. MBARU JUDGE
Issues in the judgment
#Internal arithmetic inconsistencies in the adopted schedule: some entries apply a gross wage different from the one multiplied, e.g. 'Nzuki ... notice 19,136 14,422x8 153,088' (14,422x8 should be 115,376, not 153,088), and entries like 'Kademi ... notice 15,556 14,422x8 124,448' mix wage figures
The ruling states the respondent addressed the total net wage, yet the adopted schedule headers list figures such as 15,067 which correspond to the claimants' net-wage tabulation, creating ambiguity over whose figures were adopted for some claimants
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Benard Musyoka Ngwenzee & 167 others v Uzuri Foods Limited [2021] KEELRC 1400 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2021). Cause No. 1830 of 2015. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2021/1400/eng@2021-03-23
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.