Career advice · Updated October 2026

Employment Act Kenya: A Plain-English Guide to Your Rights at Work

The Employment Act Kenya workers and employers rely on is the Employment Act, 2007 (now cited as Cap. 226). It sets the floor for every job in the country: the least an employer may offer on contracts, pay, leave, notice and dismissal. Anything better in your contract or a collective agreement applies on top. Anything worse is void. This guide walks through the Act part by part in plain English, with the section numbers you need if you ever have to quote it to HR, a labour officer or the court.

We checked every point below against the current text on Kenya Law, which includes amendments up to the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2024 (in force 26 April 2024). The Act commenced on 2 June 2008 and sits alongside four other 2007 labour laws: the Labour Relations Act, the Labour Institutions Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Work Injury Benefits Act.

Who the Employment Act covers

Section 3 says the Act applies to all employees employed by any employer under a contract of service, and it binds the Government too. So it covers private companies, NGOs, schools, hospitals, counties, state corporations, small shops and households that employ a house help.

It does not apply to the Kenya Defence Forces, the Kenya Police, the Prisons Service, the Administration Police, the Kenya Coast Guard Service, the National Intelligence Service and the National Youth Service, which have their own laws. It also excludes a family business where the only employees are the owner’s dependants.

The most important line is section 3(6): the Act’s terms are minimum terms, and any agreement to give them up or water them down is null and void. Signing a contract that says “no leave” or “no notice” does not take those rights away. Section 26(2) adds the other half: where a contract, collective agreement, regulation or court award is more favourable to the employee, the better terms apply.

How the Act is organised

Fairness at work: discrimination and harassment

Section 5 bars direct and indirect discrimination against employees and job applicants on grounds including race, colour, sex, language, religion, political opinion, nationality, ethnic or social origin, disability, pregnancy, marital status and HIV status. It applies to recruitment, training, promotion, pay, terms and termination. Employers must pay equal pay for work of equal value, and in a discrimination case the burden falls on the employer to prove it did not discriminate.

Section 6 defines sexual harassment, covering requests for sex tied to promises or threats about your job, sexual language, sexual images and unwelcome physical behaviour by the employer, a manager or a co-worker. Employers with 20 or more employees must issue a written sexual harassment policy after consulting staff.

Contracts and job particulars

Under section 9, a contract for three months or more, or for work that cannot reasonably be finished within three months, must be in writing. The employer is responsible for drawing it up, and if you cannot read it or do not understand the language, the employer must explain it in a language you understand. Oral contracts are still valid (section 8), and the Act protects people on them.

Section 10 lists the particulars a written contract must contain, such as your job description, start date, place and hours of work, pay and how it is calculated, leave and sick pay terms, and notice periods. The employer must give you these within two months of starting. If it cannot produce a written contract in a dispute, section 10(7) puts the burden of proving the terms on the employer. Section 12 requires a statement of the disciplinary rules that apply to you.

Since the Employment (Amendment) Act, 2022, section 9(5) to (8) also limits when you can be asked for clearance certificates: an employer should only ask for them once it intends to hire you (state office applicants are treated differently), and the public body issuing a clearance must not charge for it and must issue or reject it within seven days. Our guide to documents required for jobs in Kenya covers each certificate.

Wages, deductions and payslips

Part IV protects your pay. Wages must be paid in Kenyan currency, in full, in cash, into your bank account or by cheque or money order (section 17). Your employer must give you an itemised pay statement every time you are paid (section 20). If you are not sure what each line on yours means, read how to read your payslip.

Section 19 lists the only deductions an employer may make, including statutory deductions, agreed pension contributions, one day’s wages for each day absent without leave, and loan repayments under a written agreement. All deductions together must not exceed two-thirds of your wages at any one time (section 19(3)), which is why lenders and saccos talk about the “two-thirds rule”. Business Radar’s check-off loan calculator shows how much room that leaves. Minimum pay itself is not set in the Employment Act but by wage orders; see our minimum wage guide.

Leave and working conditions

Part V sets the basic conditions of employment:

• Rest day: at least one rest day in every seven days (section 27).
• Annual leave: at least 21 working days with full pay after every 12 consecutive months (section 28). Our annual leave guide covers splitting it, carrying it over and pay on exit.
• Maternity, paternity and pre-adoptive leave: three months, two weeks and one month on full pay (sections 29 and 29A). See maternity and paternity leave.
• Sick leave: after two months’ service, at least seven days on full pay and seven on half pay in each 12 months, with a medical certificate (section 30). Details in our sick leave guide.
• Housing: reasonable housing or a rent allowance on top of wages, unless your pay is consolidated to include a housing element (section 31).
• Water, food and medicine: wholesome water at work (section 32), food where agreed (section 33), and proper medicine during illness (section 34).

Ending a job: notice, redundancy and dismissal

Part VI is where most disputes start.

1. Notice (section 35): if you are paid monthly, either side must give 28 days’ written notice, unless your contract gives longer. Daily-paid contracts end at the close of any day. Section 36 allows payment in lieu of notice, and section 38 says that if you resign and your employer waives your notice, it must pay you for the unserved period unless you agree otherwise.
2. Casual workers (section 37): a casual who works continuously for the equivalent of a month, or on work expected to take three months or more, is treated as a monthly-paid employee with full rights.
3. Redundancy (section 40): the employer must give notice to the union or employee and the labour officer, select fairly by seniority, skill, ability and reliability, pay off leave in cash, give one month’s notice or pay, and pay severance of at least 15 days’ pay for each completed year of service.
4. Probation (section 42): no more than six months, extendable by up to six more with your agreement, ended with seven days’ notice. Read our probation period guide.
5. Fair procedure (section 41): before dismissing you for misconduct, poor performance or physical incapacity, the employer must explain the reason in a language you understand, let you bring a colleague or shop-floor union rep, and hear your side.
6. Summary dismissal (section 44): dismissal without notice is only allowed for gross misconduct, such as absence without leave, drunkenness at work, wilful neglect, insulting behaviour, refusing lawful orders or crimes against the employer.
7. Unfair termination (sections 43, 45 and 46): the employer must prove a valid and fair reason and a fair procedure. Pregnancy, taking leave you are entitled to, union membership, filing a complaint and your tribe, religion or HIV status are never fair reasons.

Section 45(3) still appears in the text and says only employees with at least 13 months’ continuous service can claim unfair termination. Do not let it stop you: the High Court declared it unconstitutional in Samuel G. Momanyi v Attorney General & another (2012), and the Court of Appeal upheld that view in Gogni Rajope Construction Ltd & another v Cornel Otieno Omondi (2025).

Every employee who has worked at least four consecutive weeks must get a certificate of service when they leave (section 51). It must state the employer, your name, start and end dates and the nature of your job, but it does not have to include a reference. When a job ends, our terminal dues guide and terminal dues calculator show what you should be paid.

Remedies and where to complain

If you are unfairly dismissed, section 49 lets a labour officer, and section 50 lets the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC), award notice pay, any wages due, compensation of up to 12 months’ gross salary, or reinstatement or re-engagement. These payments are subject to statutory deductions. For a recent example of how the court weighs procedure, see Business Radar’s report on a KSh1.1m award over a flawed dismissal process.

You have two routes, and you can use either:

• Labour officer: section 47 lets you complain about summary dismissal or unfair termination within three months of the dismissal. It is free, and advocates may not appear before the labour officer, although a union or employers’ organisation official can assist (section 48).
• ELRC: section 86 says only the Employment and Labour Relations Court can hear employment disputes in court. The general limit for any claim under the Act is three years from the act complained of, or 12 months after a continuing injury ends (section 89 of the revised text, often cited as section 90).

Keep your contract, payslips, letters and any WhatsApp or email messages about the dispute. They are your evidence.

Key takeaways

• The Employment Act sets minimum terms. You cannot sign them away, and better terms in a contract or CBA always win.
• It covers almost every employee, including government and household workers, but not the disciplined services or NYS.
• Core rights include a written contract for jobs of three months or more, payslips, a two-thirds cap on deductions, 21 days’ annual leave and paid sick and maternity leave.
• Dismissal needs a valid reason and a fair hearing, and short service does not bar an unfair termination claim.
• Complain to a labour officer within three months of dismissal, or go to the ELRC.

Frequently asked questions

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