๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด-๐ง๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ-๐ง๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐
“The Act was precisely put in place to protect employees who often have no voice against the ‘big brother’ from unfair and poor labour practices that dogged the public and private service for decades.” This was the finding of the Court of Appeal in Kenya County Government Workers’ Union v Embu County Government & Another, delivered on 24th July 2026.
The decision has significant implications for employers engaging workers on long-term casual or successive fixed-term arrangements.
The Court:
๐นHeld that employees who had served continuously for several years, some for more than two decades, while performing work of a permanent and continuous nature, could not lawfully be treated as casual employees or retained indefinitely on successive short-term contracts, notwithstanding the terms of their letters of appointment.
๐นReaffirmed that repeated renewal of short-term contracts may amount to “a roundabout way of avoiding the provisions of the law on casual employment”, with section 37 of the Employment Act operating to convert the employment relationship by operation of the law.
๐นConfirmed that constitutional labour claims fall within the ELRC’s jurisdiction and are not invariably subject to prior exhaustion of internal grievance or trade union dispute-resolution mechanisms.
๐นAllowed the appeal, set aside the ELRC’s judgment, and directed Embu County Government to regularise the affected employees’ terms of service.
The decision complements our earlier alert on Consumer Federation of Kenya v Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum & 3 Others; Eng. Kipkemoi Kibias (Interested Party), Petition No. E153 of 2026. Read together, the two decisions clarify both the scope of employment rights and the jurisdiction of the ELRC.
For employers, the judgment highlights the need to review long-serving casual and fixed-term employment arrangements and ensure compliance with section 37 of the Employment Act and Article 41 of the Constitution.
For a concise analysis of the decision and its significance for employment regularization, constitutional labour litigation, and employer compliance with section 37 of the Employment Act, read our Legal Alert below.
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