Kurui v Aquila Development Company Ltd (Employment and Labour Relations Petition E007 of 2023) [2024] KEELRC 658 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan worker's unfair dismissal and injury claim was struck out because he filed it in the wrong court and skipped the required work injury reporting process.
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 court has jurisdiction to hear and determine the suit given the Gazette Notice No 6024 salary threshold
- 2.Whether the Petition raises any constitutional questions or offends the doctrine of constitutional avoidance
- 3.Whether the Respondent frustrated the Petitioner's employment and terminated him on account of his work injury
- 4.Whether the Petitioner was discriminated against on account of his work injury
- 5.Whether the Respondent violated the Petitioner's right to compensation under WIBA and whether the Petitioner is entitled to the reliefs sought
- 6.Who should bear the costs of the petition
Key legal issues
#Whether the Petition raised constitutional issues attracting the court's jurisdiction
The petition raised no proper constitutional issues; it is an ordinary employer-employee dispute concerning unfair termination and work injury compensation, and the doctrine of constitutional avoidance applies
The court found the only issues raised related to unfair termination and failure to pay injury compensation, matters fully addressed by statute. It declined to delve into matters that can be handled under laid down parallel provisions of law, applying the doctrine of constitutional avoidance urged by the Respondent.
Whether the court had jurisdiction given the Petitioner's gross monthly salary of Kshs 12,938
The court lacked jurisdiction; the claim should have been instituted in the subordinate court under Gazette Notice No 6024 which grants subordinate courts jurisdiction over employment disputes where gross monthly salary does not exceed Kshs 80,000
The Petitioner earned Kshs 12,938 per month, below the Kshs 80,000 threshold in Gazette Notice No 6024 dated 22/6/2018. The court found the Petitioner came before it prematurely in the wrong forum and directed that the statutory process be followed instead.
Whether the Respondent violated the Petitioner's right to WIBA compensation by failing to fill the DOSH forms
No; WIBA provides an alternative roadmap whereby the employee may report the accident to the Director directly under section 22(5), which the Petitioner failed to do, making the petition an abuse of process
The court held that failure by the employer to fill the compensation form does not leave the employee without remedy: section 22(5) of WIBA permits the employee to report the accident to the Director at any stage. The Petitioner never utilised this avenue and instead filed a petition.
Legal principles established
#- Where an employer fails to report a work injury to the Director under WIBA, the employee may at any stage report the occupational accident or disease to the Director directly under section 22(5) of WIBA, and a petition filed without following that statutory process is an abuse of the court process
- Employment disputes where the employee's gross monthly salary does not exceed Kshs 80,000/- fall within the jurisdiction of the subordinate court per Gazette Notice No 6024 and should not be instituted before the ELRC
Court orders
#- 1.The claim for wrongful dismissal being in the wrong forum is struck out forthwith
- 2.No order of costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Articles 22, 23 and 165 of the Constitution; challenged on Gazette Notice No 6024 (Vol CXX No 74) dated 22nd June 2018 under the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act
Relief refused
#All declarations and reliefs sought in the Petition (unfair termination, discrimination, WIBA compensation, certificate of service, damages, terminal benefits)
The petition raised no proper constitutional issues; the WIBA process was not followed and the claim was filed in the wrong forum given the Petitioner's salary level
Order compelling the Respondent to fill DOSH forms and pay WIBA compensation
WIBA itself provides a process where the employee may report the accident directly to the Director, which the Petitioner failed to pursue
Costs
There will be no order of costs (each party to bear own costs).
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.
It is indeed true that the petition as it is, raises no proper constitutional issues. The only issues raised in this petition relate to an unfair termination and failure to pay compensation for injury.
This in my view is an abuse of the court process, since the petitioner has failed to follow due process.
As to the claim for wrongful dismissal being in the wrong forum is forthwith struck out. There will be no order of costs.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment alternates between describing the suit as a 'Petition' by a 'Petitioner' and a 'claim' by a 'Claimant', and at paragraph 71 refers to the petitioner in the third person as if directing an order against them
TheRespondent's submissions state 'the Petitioner relied on the case of...' where it is the Respondent who is relying on the authority, a drafting error in paragraph 49
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kurui v Aquila Development Company Ltd (Employment and Labour Relations Petition E007 of 2023) [2024] KEELRC 658 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Petition dated 18th April, 2023. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2024/658/eng@2024-03-19
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.