Equity Bank Kenya has been orders to pay more than sh13.8 million to three expatriates for firing them eight years ago without warning as required by the law.
Judge Anna Mwaure of the Employment and Labor Relations Court determined that the lender did not provide sufficient proof to the three South African specialists for their termination.
“The court has perused the documents submitted by the respective parties and has not found that there was due notification to the claimants’ Nos 1 to 3 to declare them redundant as required by section 40 (1) (b) of the Employment Act,” the judge said.
The judge further said the bank failed to involve Mr Alan John Roberts, Mr Raphael Devantier, and Gerard Jan Hofhuis before deciding to let them go from the pool of employees.
Judge Mwaure however rejected a plea by one Alexander Pavlos, concluding that he voluntarily resigned in February 2016.
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The four had sued the lender in 2017, claiming that they were fired involuntarily without notice because they were foreigners.
Justice Mwaure said the reason given by the employer for the termination was that their positions were no longer profitable, and the company did not have suitable placements for them.
They claimed that the decision was unexpected as the bank was not undergoing any layoff procedures and they had recently renewed their employment and residency permits.
The bank stated that the expatriates’ roles as industry specialists were deemed redundant through no fault of their own, and the termination was deemed just and fair.