- Picture a scenario where your employer invites or meets you at a club and decides to pay your weekly or monthly wages
- Out of excitement, you squander the money on drinks, nyama choma and a bevvy of baddies turning heads and stealing hearts with graceful smiles
- What would you do when you wake up the following day and realise your hard-earned monthly pay went down the drain in a single night of partying?
- The Employment Act (2007) has a provision that provides a remedy for this scenario, mostly in favour of the employee
In a world where everyone is striving to make ends meet, employment and remuneration have become common. Thousands of Kenyans comb through numerous websites daily to search for jobs. Some even randomly send CVs to potential employers, asking for any available job.
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Interestingly, those who eventually secure jobs pay little attention to the terms of the contracts they sign or the provisions of the Employment Act that define their relationship with employers.
It is not surprising that nearly 90% of employment cases filed in court involve breaches of contract, particularly concerning remuneration and termination processes.
Now, picture this: your employer invites or meets you at a liquor joint or club and decides that, because it is the end of the month and he owes you a salary, he pays you at that point.
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In the process of imbibing and making merry, you squander the money on drinks, nyama choma and a bevvy of baddies.
What would you do when you wake up the following day and realise your hard-earned monthly pay went down the drain in a single night of partying? Do you have any recourse in law?
Section 17 (3) of the Employment Act 2007 provides recourse for an employee who finds themselves in such a situation.
The provision bars employers from paying their employees in a place where alcohol is sold.
“An employer shall not pay wages to an employee in any place where intoxicating liquor is sold or readily available for supply, except in the case of employees employed to work in that place,” reads section 17(3) of the Employment Act.
It is on the strength of this provision that an employee affected by such an incident can file a complaint before a labour officer or proceed to sue in an Employment and Labour Relations court.
However, it is important to weigh your options carefully before taking either of the two options. It is advisable to consult an expert, such as a lawyer, before making the move.
It is worth noting that the above options can have a ripple effect on your career, as they might lead to a strained relationship with the employer and possible termination in the end.
Why is this section important?
The employment and labour laws are, to a large extent, designed to protect the employee from potential mistreatment by exploitative employers.
The rationale behind the design of these laws is the understanding that employers wield immense powers over employees, and thus, the need for regulations that restrain them from mistreating their servants. This ensures that there is a balance and a fair playing ground.
Employees are often perceived as vulnerable people who need protection from exploitation and any form of mistreatment.
Author Simon Sinek once likened the employer-employee relationship to that of a parent and an adopted child; easy to take in but difficult to discard. You cannot exploit, mistreat, or even think of disowning a child merely because you adopted them.
The above section, for instance, was introduced to end past exploitative practices perpetuated by colonial masters, who often paid labourers in bars or liquor stores, effectively trapping them in cycles of spending their earnings on alcohol before leaving the premises.
This ensured the labourers remained poor in order to continue providing cheap labour.
This section also ensures that both the dignity of employees and the value of their work are upheld. Paying wages in a bar undermines the seriousness and formality of the employment relationship.
Last but not least, Section 17 (3) exists to protect employees from coercion or temptation. Paying someone in a bar can easily influence them to spend part or all of their wages immediately on alcohol.
It is important to note that this law has never been tested in Kenyan courts and therefore there exists no precedent for it.
Editor’s note: This is not professional legal advice but a mere informative article based on the author’s own individual reading, interpretation and understanding of Section 17 (3) of the Employment Act.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
