The Employment and Labour Relations Court has awarded a former World Vision Kenya driver Ksh 790,398 after ruling that he was unfairly dismissed for being in a consensual relationship with a co-worker.
Dominic Mutuku Mulavu, who had worked for World Vision Kenya as a driver for 12 years, was summarily dismissed in May 2024 for allegedly breaching the organization’s Safeguarding Policy.
The employer claimed Mulavu had engaged in a prohibited relationship with a “beneficiary.”
However, evidence presented in court showed that his partner, Mercy Kailu, was an independent businesswoman and not a beneficiary of the organization.
The court also established that the couple had been in a consensual relationship for three years and intended to get married.
The employer failed to provide evidence to support its claim that the relationship violated its safeguarding policy.
While the court found that the disciplinary process met the required procedural standards, it ruled that the dismissal was substantively unfair because the employer had misapplied its own policy to a lawful and private relationship.
Applying the reasonable employer test, the judge held that no reasonable employer would terminate an employee under such circumstances.
Mulavu was awarded one month’s salary in lieu of notice and eight months’ gross salary as compensation, bringing the total award to Ksh 790,398.
