When an exit becomes a claim

Employers rarely intend to create a claim. They intend to end a relationship that has stopped working: poor performance, misconduct, a role that no longer exists, a resignation that was encouraged. The claim is usually born in the procedure, not the motive.

Kenyan employment law cares how the ending happened. Misconduct and poor performance generally require the employee to be told the case and heard before the decision. Redundancy has its own notice and selection duties. A reason that cannot be proved, or a process that was rushed to suit a Friday, is how a management decision becomes an unfair-termination case.

The record is the case. Warning letters that were never sent, a hearing that was a formality, or a “mutual separation” signed under pressure without advice, all travel badly. So does paying terminal dues late and hoping the employee will simply leave.

For senior exits, the commercial questions sit beside the statutory ones. What does the contract say about notice, restraint and confidential information? What access should close on the day, and what must still be handed over properly? A clean exit protects the business. A messy one funds the dispute.

If you are preparing to dismiss, declare redundant, or negotiate a separation, have the grounds and the sequence reviewed before the letter goes out.