NAIROBI, Kenya — The Employment and Labour Relations Court has awarded a former general manager of Kwale International Sugar Company Limited more than Sh9.2 million after finding that she was constructively dismissed following 17 months of unpaid salary.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Monica Mbaru, the court held that the company’s prolonged failure to pay Pamela Adhiambo Ogada’s salary amounted to a fundamental breach of her employment contract, forcing her out of employment.
The court found that the employer not only failed to remunerate the senior manager for 17 consecutive months but also instructed her to resign after she raised concerns over the welfare of employees who had gone without pay.
Court finds constructive dismissal
Court proceedings established that Ogada continued reporting to work and performing her duties despite receiving no salary for nearly a year and a half.
During that period, she also accumulated unpaid leave and struggled to meet essential personal expenses, including medical bills and school fees.
A key piece of evidence before the court was an email in which Ogada described employees as “working enslaved people” because they continued discharging their duties without receiving wages.
Rather than addressing the concerns, the company’s director reportedly instructed her to stop sending what he termed “abusive emails” and to resign immediately.
Justice Mbaru held that the employer’s conduct created an intolerable working environment that effectively forced the employee to leave, meeting the legal threshold for constructive dismissal.
Financial hardship not a legal defence
The company argued that operational challenges, financial constraints and ongoing litigation had prevented it from paying employees.
However, the court rejected that defence, holding that financial difficulties do not absolve an employer of its legal obligation to pay workers.
Justice Mbaru observed that if the company could no longer sustain its workforce, it should have followed the legal redundancy process provided under Kenya’s employment laws instead of requiring employees to continue working without pay.
“The employee who wakes up every day to attend work with the legitimate expectation that he/she has earned his labour and the reward is a salary at the end of the month, is reduced to ‘slavery’ when such a date arrives, and there is no pay,” the judge stated.
Sh9.2 million compensation
The court awarded Ogada Sh6.6 million in salary arrears covering the 17-month period she worked without pay.
She was also awarded Sh313,223 for accrued leave, Sh389,137 in notice pay and Sh1.95 million as compensation for unfair termination, bringing the total award to more than Sh9.2 million.
The ruling reinforces employers’ statutory obligation to pay employees for work performed and underscores that prolonged non-payment of wages may amount to constructive dismissal, entitling affected employees to compensation under Kenyan labour law.