Kinyanjui v Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited (Cause 639 of 2018) [2025] KEELRC 1661 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court upheld Standard Chartered's dismissal of a banker, finding the disciplinary process was fair and his appeal letter admitted guilt.
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 parties were in a contract of service
- 2.Whether and how the contract of service was terminated
- 3.Whether the claimant was accorded due process (procedural fairness) per section 41 of the Employment Act
- 4.Whether the reasons for termination were valid and fair per sections 43 and 45 of the Employment Act
- 5.What remedies, if any, the claimant is entitled to
Key legal issues
#Procedural fairness in termination
The claimant was accorded due process per section 41 of the Employment Act; no procedural defect established
The claimant was informed of the particulars of the allegations, responded, attended the disciplinary hearing, appealed, and was informed of all outcomes. Allegations that the charges changed at the hearing were dismissed as an afterthought since the claimant did not allege such change in his appeal.
Validity and fairness of reasons for termination
The respondent established valid and genuine reasons per section 43 and fair reasons per section 45; the claimant admitted culpability in his appeal letter
The claimant's appeal letter admitted culpability and only pleaded for leniency via acceptance of his resignation. The termination was for writing a letter without authority, conflict of interest, and issuing a letter to a non-customer, contrary to the Code of Conduct. The soft-landing principle did not render the termination excessive.
Remedies
All monetary reliefs failed; only the statutory certificate of service under section 51 was awarded
Having found no unfair termination, compensation, notice pay, service pay, bonus, post-termination salary, pension and exemplary damages all failed. The certificate of service is a statutory entitlement under section 51 of the Employment Act.
Legal principles established
#- A soft landing (termination with notice pay despite culpability) is open to the employer's discretion, and where culpability is established through a disciplinary process, termination with notice pay is not harsh or excessive punishment
- An employee who submits to a disciplinary process to its conclusion effectively waives a pending resignation, and termination takes effect by the letter of termination
Court orders
#- 1.The respondent to deliver the certificate of service by 01.07.2025
- 2.Each party to bear own costs of the suit
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under the Employment Act, 2007 (first-instance employment claim)
Relief refused
#Declaration that dismissal was unlawful, wrongful, unfair and unconstitutional; damages for unfair termination of Kshs. 6,600,000
No procedural defect or irregularity; due process under section 41 was accorded and the reasons for termination were valid and fair
One month's salary in lieu of notice (Kshs. 550,000)
Notice pay was premised on a finding of unfair termination; in any event termination was imposed with notice pay
Service pay for 2 years (Kshs. 636,615.40)
Claimant was a member of NSSF and the basis of service pay not established
Bonus for 2016 (Kshs. 1,200,000) or bonus until retirement (Kshs. 22,800,000)
Bonus was gratuitous and discretionary to the respondent
Salary and pension contributions until retirement age of 60 (Kshs. 434,717,246.15 / Kshs. 132,000,000 and Kshs. 26,083,034.77)
Payments and benefits under the contract lapsed upon termination; no basis established for post-termination payments
Exemplary damages for malicious termination
No case made out for award of exemplary damages
Costs
Each party to bear own costs of the suit.
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.
the claimant was accorded due process of a notice and a hearing per section 41 of the Employment Act, 2007
the respondent has established that the reasons for termination were valid as genuine per section 43 of the Act and further that they were fair relating to the claimant’s conduct and the respondent’s operational requirements as provided for in section 45 of the Act.
by subjecting himself to the disciplinary process all the way to the appeal stage, the claimant thereby efiectively waived the decision to resign.
The respondent to deliver the certificate of service by 01.07.2025.
Each party to bear own costs of the suit.
Issues in the judgment
#Extract contains numerous OCR character errors (e.g. 'efiective', 'confiict', 'sevice pay', 'Couret'), but no substantive internal contradictions identified
The claim and judgment refer to a Euro 65 million financing but the termination letter reasons refer to 'the of an arrangement fee of Euros 500,00 for a stand by a letter of credit (SBLC)', an apparent typo in the judgment
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kinyanjui v Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited (Cause 639 of 2018) [2025] KEELRC 1661 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Employment claim, amended statement of claim dated 14.07.2023 (number not stated in extract). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1661/eng@2025-06-05
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.