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ELRCDismissedNot specified in the judgment· [2025] KEELRC 190 (KLR)

Fast-Track Management Consultants Limited v Bata Shoe Kenya PLC; Kenya Shoe and Leather Workers Union (Interested Party) (Employment and Labour Relations Cause E651 of 2022) [2025] KEELRC 190 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
30 January 2025
BMB. O. M. Manani
1,309 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Employment Court ruled it cannot hear disputes between manpower suppliers and their clients—such disagreements belong in the commercial courts, and the case was dismissed.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Claimant, a labour outsourcing company, contracted with the Respondent on 1st July 2021 to supply manpower for one year. The contract lapsed on 30th June 2022 by effluxion of time. The Claimant contended that the parties agreed to continue the arrangement and it supplied workers until August 2022, when the Respondent terminated the relationship. It sued seeking to compel renewal of the contract and other reliefs. The Respondent denied any agreement to continue, asserting the contract was discharged on 30th June 2022 and that the Claimant unilaterally continued supplying workers. The Respondent further argued the contract was for services between an independent contractor and a client, so the court lacked jurisdiction. The court framed three issues: jurisdiction, entitlement to renewal, and other reliefs. It held the contract created no employment relationship between the parties: the Claimant was an independent contractor, the supplied personnel were its employees, and the Claimant retained control, discipline, records, medical cover and wage obligations. The arrangement was a commercial contract for supply of labour, and 'labour relations' under Article 162(2) of the Constitution read with section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Act covers collective labour matters, not all relations in which labour is a commodity. Consequently, the ELRC had no jurisdiction, declined to determine the remaining issues, dismissed the suit for want of jurisdiction, and ordered the Claimant to bear the costs. Judgment was delivered online on 30th January 2025 with the parties' consent.

Key legal issues

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Jurisdiction of the ELRC over labour outsourcing arrangements

Holding

The contract was a commercial contract for supply of manpower between an independent contractor and a client, not an employment contract; the dispute falls outside the ELRC's jurisdiction.

Reasoning

The agreement described the Claimant as an independent contractor, made the supplied personnel employees of the Claimant, and placed control, supervision, discipline, record-keeping, medical cover and wage payment obligations on the Claimant. Although the commodity dealt in was labour, the arrangement was one of outsourcing, not an employment relationship between the parties, and 'labour relations' under Article 162(2) and section 12 of the ELRC Act denotes collective labour matters.

p. 3

Legal principles established

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  • A dispute between an independent contractor and a client arising from an agreement to supply or outsource labour is a commercial, not an employment, dispute outside the ELRC's jurisdiction.
  • Jurisdiction flows from the Constitution or an Act of Parliament and courts cannot enlarge it through judicial craft.

Court orders

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  1. 1.The suit is dismissed for want of jurisdiction.
  2. 2.The Claimant shall bear the costs of the case.
Jurisdiction invoked
Article 162(2) of the Constitution as read with section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Act (ELRC Act)

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, "Fast-Track Management Consultants Limited v Bata Shoe Kenya PLC; Kenya Shoe and Leather Workers Union (Interested Party) (Employment and Labour Relations Cause E651 of 2022) [2025] KEELRC 190 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not specified in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/190/eng@2025-01-30

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