Two separate court rulings handed down in recent weeks have strengthened protections for Kenya’s casual and outsourced workers, reinforcing that the substance of an employment relationship, not the label on a contract, determines a worker’s legal entitlements.
In a landmark decision delivered in Nyeri on July 24, 2026, the Court of Appeal ruled that employers cannot rely on describing a worker as “casual” to deny them statutory rights where the person has, in reality, been continuously engaged in duties associated with a permanent position. The case arose from a dispute between the Kenya County Government Workers Union and the Embu County Government, in which employees accused the county of salary inequality and sought to have their status regularised to permanent and pensionable terms.
The appellate judges overturned an earlier Employment and Labour Relations Court decision that had dismissed the workers’ petition in 2020, faulting the lower court for failing to properly consider the discrimination claims raised. The Court of Appeal held that the relationship between the workers and the county was not casual but permanent and pensionable, ordering the county to align their terms with the Employment Act and Article 41 of the Constitution, which guarantees fair labour practices.
In a related development, the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Mombasa had earlier ruled, on June 11, 2026, that outsourced and casual workers engaged by the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union’s members against Raya Vipingo Limited are entitled to the same terms and Collective Bargaining Agreement benefits as permanent staff performing similar duties.
Central Organization of Trade Unions Secretary-General Francis Atwoli welcomed the Mombasa judgment during a June 18 press briefing in Nairobi, calling it a defining moment in the fight against exploitative labour practices. He said the ruling ensures outsourced workers are paid according to the CBA in force at their actual workplace rather than being bound by lesser terms imposed by labour-hire agencies.
Employment lawyers say both rulings place fresh compliance burdens on employers across agriculture, manufacturing, security and county governments, who must now review how they classify long-serving casual and outsourced staff or risk exposure to back-pay claims and unfair labour practice suits.
Together, the two decisions signal a firming judicial stance that Kenyan workers cannot be permanently confined to casual status simply through repeated short-term contracts or outsourcing arrangements, a shift labour unions say could reshape hiring practices nationwide.
