Skip to content
AI-generated case briefs sourced from Kenya Law · Not legal advice
Caselaw
AI-generated case brief
Case Brief · caselaw.co.ke
ELRCPartially AllowedPetition dated 8th January 2025· [2025] KEELRC 2102 (KLR)

Chemutai v Lipa Later Limited (Employment and Labour Relations Petition E007 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 2102 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
16 July 2025
HWHellen Wasilwa
1,598 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~6 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

#

A Kenyan court awarded over Kshs 5 million to an employee whose employer's failure to pay her salary amounted to unfair constructive dismissal.

What this practically means

#

Executive summary

#
The Petitioner, employed as a Product Manager from 20th September 2023 at a gross monthly salary of Kshs 350,000, petitioned the Employment and Labour Relations Court alleging that the Respondent constructively dismissed her through persistent non-payment of salaries and a coerced consultancy agreement reducing her salary to Kshs 249,035 from May 2024. She claimed salaries for July to September 2024 (Kshs 749,105), underpayments for May and June (Kshs 200,000), twelve months' compensation for constructive dismissal, notice pay, severance, a certificate of service, constitutional and exemplary damages, interest and costs, citing Articles 27, 28, 41 and 47 of the Constitution and the Employment Act. The Respondent did not enter appearance and the petition proceeded undefended, leaving the Petitioner's evidence uncontroverted. Relying on the constructive dismissal principles in Coca-Cola v Ligaga as submitted by counsel, the court found that failure to pay an employee's salary when due is a breach of labour rights under Article 41 and amounted to constructive termination. The court awarded unpaid salaries of Kshs 749,105, underpayments of Kshs 200,000, eight months' salary (Kshs 2,800,000) as compensation for unfair constructive termination, one month's notice pay of Kshs 350,000, and Kshs 1 million as constitutional damages, totalling Kshs 5,099,105. The judgment, delivered virtually on 16th July 2025, made no express order on severance, the certificate of service, interest or costs. Dated, signed and delivered by Hellen Wasilwa, Judge.

Key legal issues

#
01

Constructive dismissal through non-payment of salary

Holding

Uncontroverted evidence that the Petitioner worked without being paid as expected established a repudiatory breach amounting to constructive termination

Reasoning

The petition proceeded undefended after the Respondent failed to enter appearance. The Petitioner established employment and demonstrated that her salary was never paid as expected, leading to her resignation. The court found the conditions the Respondent subjected her to caused the resignation, constituting constructive termination deserving compensation.

p. 4
02

Violation of Article 41 fair labour practices

Holding

Failure to pay salary when due breached the Petitioner's labour rights under Article 41

Reasoning

Article 41 guarantees every person fair labour practices and every worker fair remuneration and reasonable working conditions. With the Respondent not paying salary when due, the court found a breach of these rights, entitling the Petitioner to compensation including constitutional damages.

p. 4

Legal principles established

#
  • It is a breach of labour rights for an employee to work and not be paid
  • An employer who fails to pay salary when due breaches the employee's constitutional labour rights and constructively terminates the employee, attracting compensation

Court orders

#
  1. 1.Unpaid salaries as pledged of Kshs 749,105/-
  2. 2.Underpayment of salaries as pleaded of Kshs 200,000/-
  3. 3.Compensation equivalent to 8 months' salary for the unfair constructive termination being Kshs 2,800,000/-
  4. 4.One month's salary in lieu of notice of Kshs 350,000/-
  5. 5.Damages for breach of constitutional rights of Kshs 1,000,000
  6. 6.Total award of Kshs 5,099,105/-
Jurisdiction invoked
Articles 27, 28, 41 and 47 of the Constitution; Employment Act, 2007 (fair labour practices/unfair termination jurisdiction of the ELRC)

Key timeline

#

Practical implications

#

Frequently asked questions

#

Cite this brief

#

Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Chemutai v Lipa Later Limited (Employment and Labour Relations Petition E007 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 2102 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Petition dated 8th January 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2102/eng@2025-07-16

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