‘Poor performers’ termination risks for employers

A precedent-setting judgment from a court is expected to tip the scales in Favor of workers who have been fired for subpar performance.

It was noted that, especially when the employee has suggested areas that, if left in employment, will help them reach their goals, employers can no longer ignore the reasons for below-average performance.

The Employment and Labour Court ruled that an employer would be acting unreasonable if they failed to consider a worker’s complaints about the workplace, which could have contributed to their subpar performance.

Even after voicing valid complaints or grievances as required by the Employment Act, Vincent Namai was unfairly terminated by National Bank (NBK), according to Justice Byram Ongaya.

His scores of subpar performances were treated as if they didn’t exist, rather than the lender amicably addressing the problems brought up by the former branch manager.

“On the whole, the Court returns that the petition was well grounded upon the material before the court and it has been established accordingly,” the judge said as he ordered the lender to compensate him Sh5 million for the termination.

Mr. Namai was employed by the lender in 1995 as a clerical officer and progressed through the ranks to become a branch manager before being let go in January of last year, according to the evidence that was presented to the court.

The court was informed that Mr. Namai served the country admirably for 27 years and received promotions on the basis of merit. He served as a branch manager for NBK for seven of those years.

Trouble began when he was reassigned to the Kitengela branch in 2020 for a second time, but the performance was subpar in contrast to his first term, when his branch was one of the top five.

Mr. Namai was placed under a performance improvement project, but his results were ultimately found to be unsatisfactory.