Part X of the Employment Act (Act No. 11 of 2007) provides for the management of employment and applies to employers with more than 25 persons in their employ. Sections 76 to 79 imposes certain responsibilities on employers to notify the Director of Employment (the “Director”) in the event of a vacancy, termination/lay offs and abolishing of a post in its business. An employer is also required under this section of the Act to maintain a register of employees and make a return to the Director on an annual basis. Although the Act does not expressly provide for or establish the office of the Director, the National Employment Authority (NEA) undertakes this role and in practice implements Part X of the Act.

The NEA is a state agency established in April, 2016 through the National Employment Authority Act (Act No. 3 of 2016) and was launched and became operational in May 2019. Its main objective is to provide a comprehensive institutional framework for employment management, enhancement of employment promotion interventions and increasing access to employment for the youth, minorities and marginalized groups.

Under the National Employment Authority Act, all persons seeking employment are required to register with this Authority so as to facilitate their access to employment. On 26th June 2019, NEA issued a public notice quoting sections 76 to 81 of the Act, requiring all employers to register with NEA and to file a return detailing the following employees’ particulars: name, age, sex, occupation, date of employment, nationality and educational level, at the end of each calendar year.

In addition to the foregoing, employers are also required to notify the Director (in this case the NEA) of vacancies arising in one’s establishment, business or place of work. A vacancy is deemed to arise on the date when:

• an employer creates a post to be filled by an employee or decides to engage an employee; or
• an employee terminates or has his/her employment terminated by the employer and the employer abolishes the post.

The requisite forms to be filled to make the notifications are available on NEA’s website and employers may download the same and file the requisite returns or notifications. However, due to the directives issued by the Government of Kenya and measures taken by various public entities to curb the spread of COVID- 19 disease, NEA, in a notice circulated on the 29th day of April, 2020, has advised employers to make returns of any termination of employment or lay offs  through the National Employment Authority Integrated Systems portal (www.neaims.go.ke). Returns made through email or delivered in hard copy will be rejected.

As an employer falling within this category, please note to comply with the notification and filing directives as contravening the quoted sections may attract a fine not exceeding KShs. 100,000/= or may result in the imprisonment of the employer for a term not exceeding 6 months or both. In addition to this, the notifications will aid the Government in analyzing and mitigating the adverse effects of the COVID- 19 pandemic on employment.

If you need further information on this or on any other employment issues, please feel free to contact us through law@cmadvocates.com.