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ELRC verdict win for employees
Most employment disputes in Kenya concern unfair termination of employment, in which instance the employer bears the burden of proving the fairness of the termination.
Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) Judge Jacob Gakeri recently ruled that mandatory arbitration clauses in employment contracts are unenforceable. Such clauses prevent an aggrieved party from filing a lawsuit in court, compelling them to instead have the dispute handled by an arbitrator, whose decision is usually final. Why is this verdict a win for employees?
Employers typically impose mandatory arbitration clauses on employees in a take-it-or-leave-it fashion: unless the prospective employee signs the contract, (s)he will not get the job. The employee is also given little time to consider the contractual terms, which are obfuscated by legal jargon.
