Casual Workers’ Rights in Kenya: Employer Guide

Kenyan law defines a casual employee as someone paid at the end of each day and engaged for no more than 24 hours at a time. Under section 37 of the Employment Act, continuous service or the expected duration of the work can convert that arrangement into a monthly-paid contract. Employers must assess the actual work and attendance, not simply the label on a daily payment sheet.

Who Qualifies as a Casual Employee?

The definition in section 2 has both a payment condition and an engagement condition. Daily pay alone does not establish casual status if the actual engagement extends beyond the statutory definition.

For HR, review what the supervisor arranged: a discrete daily task, recurring shifts, or an ongoing assignment. Keep the task description alongside attendance and payment records. A document headed “casual agreement” does not settle classification when the working arrangement says otherwise.

Section 37: When Casual Employment Converts

Apply the Separate Conversion Tests

Use this decision sequence:

• Check the definition: Is payment due at the end of each day, with engagement for no more than 24 hours at a time?
• Check continuous service: Have continuous working days aggregated to at least one month? If so, section 37 deems the contract monthly-paid.
• Check the work itself: Is it work that cannot reasonably be completed within an aggregate period of three months or more? This is an independent conversion trigger, not a requirement to wait until that period has elapsed.
• Check the further entitlement: After conversion, continuous service of two months or more from first employment as a casual brings the terms and conditions the worker would have received without the original casual classification.

Conversion triggers the monthly-contract notice rule. It does not, by its wording alone, automatically create a permanent-and-pensionable appointment; a court may also vary terms in a dispute.

Apply the Tests to Actual Rosters

Recurring warehouse loading: A loader’s continuous working days aggregate to at least one month. Paying at the gate after every shift does not defeat the service-based conversion test.

An extended assignment: A worker is engaged for an assignment that cannot reasonably be completed within an aggregate period of three months or more. Assess the work-duration trigger independently of how recently the person started.

Scattered attendance: An occasional name on a roster requires examination of the actual engagements and continuity. Neither the word “casual” nor a count of isolated payments answers the statutory questions by itself.

Minimum Daily Wages and Housing Allowance

The General Wages Amendment Order supplied here took effect on 1 November 2024. Its listed minimum daily rates for a general labourer, cleaner, sweeper, gardener, house servant, day watchman or messenger are:

These are occupation-specific rates under the General Wages Order, not a universal price for every casual job. Before approving a daily rate, identify the applicable wage order, occupation and location.

The table distinguishes monthly rates, which exclude housing allowance, from daily and hourly rates, which include it. Do not treat a monthly basic-pay figure as an all-inclusive daily rate. When converting a worker, document the new pay basis and housing treatment rather than copying a daily rate into an unexplained monthly figure.

Payroll: Deductions and Employer Costs

Do not use casual classification as a blanket payroll exemption. Assess each obligation against the worker’s actual employment and pay arrangement.

• PAYE: KRA requires employers to deduct tax from employees’ emoluments at prevailing individual rates, file the return and remit the tax on or before the 9th day of the following month.
• NSSF: Every employer engaging one or more employees must register as a contributing employer, register employees and remit contributions in full by the 9th day of the following month.
• SHIF: The Social Health Insurance Regulations require employers to register salaried employees, deduct the applicable contribution and remit it to the Authority.
• Affordable Housing Levy: The employee contributes 1.5% of gross monthly salary, and the employer contributes a matching 1.5%. KRA states that the combined amount is due within nine working days after the end of the month in which it is due.

Keep worker deductions separate from employer contributions in the cost sheet. The employer’s Housing Levy contribution is an additional employer cost, not another deduction from the worker’s agreed gross salary.

Use payroll management to reconcile attendance-based earnings with remittances. For converted monthly-paid staff, the Kenya PAYE calculator helps explain the difference between gross salary and take-home pay.

Kenya PAYE calculatorWork out net pay and every deduction for any salary.

An Employer’s Conversion Workflow

Establish the Employment History

Reconcile the original start date, signed attendance, task scope, supervisor instructions and payment acknowledgements. Identify the applicable conversion trigger from the evidence, rather than selecting the date HR first noticed the issue.

Keep wage calculations, deduction records, leave records and written changes together. These are practical evidence controls, not a claim that every daily engagement requires an identical document pack.

Document the Revised Terms

A contract expected to last three months or more, or for work that cannot reasonably be completed within three months, must be in writing. Statutory employment particulars must be supplied no later than two months after employment begins.

Record the role, pay basis, housing treatment and service history. Move converted workers onto a monthly-paid contract and assess service-based entitlements from the relevant employment history, not simply the paperwork date. Employee management can help keep attendance, contract changes and leave administration connected.

Handle Any Exit Separately

For monthly-paid contracts, the notice rule is at least 28 days in writing; the employer may instead pay salary in lieu under section 36.

Before termination for misconduct, poor performance or physical incapacity, explain the reason in a language the employee understands and hear their response. The employee may have another employee or a shop-floor union representative of their choice present. Unfair-termination remedies can include compensation of up to 12 months’ gross wages, alongside other appropriate remedies.

Workplace Injuries Still Require Action

Casual status does not remove workplace safety duties. Under the Work Injury Benefits Act, an employer must report an occupational accident to the Director in the prescribed manner within seven days after receiving notice or learning that an employee was injured.

Keep the incident report, witness accounts and reporting evidence linked to the attendance record. Do not delay reporting while trying to resolve a classification dispute.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a Casual Worker Become Permanent After One Month?

Not automatically permanent and pensionable. Section 37 deems the arrangement a monthly-paid contract when continuous working days aggregate to at least one month, or when the separate work-duration test applies. The monthly-contract notice rule then applies, with a further entitlement to ordinary employment terms after continuous service of two months or more from first engagement.

Are Casual Workers Entitled to Annual Leave and Sick Leave?

Assess converted workers against the Employment Act’s service-based entitlements rather than excluding them because they were originally casual. Annual leave is at least 21 working days with full pay after every 12 consecutive months. After two consecutive months, statutory sick leave is at least seven days on full pay and seven on half pay in each 12-month period, subject to the statutory conditions.

Must an Employer Add House Allowance to a Casual Worker’s Daily Wage?

The listed daily and hourly rates in the 2024 General Wages Order already include housing allowance. Its monthly rates exclude housing allowance. Use the correct occupation, location and payment basis rather than treating a monthly basic rate as an all-inclusive daily rate.

Can an Employer Dismiss a Converted Casual Worker Without Notice or a Hearing?

Conversion brings the monthly-contract rule of at least 28 days’ written notice, or employer payment in lieu. Before termination for misconduct, poor performance or physical incapacity, section 41 requires an explanation and an opportunity to respond with the permitted companion present. Paying notice does not replace that hearing.

Can a Casual Worker Complain to the Labour Office?

Yes, section 37 expressly preserves the complaint route to a labour officer. Employment contract claims generally have a three-year limitation period from the act, neglect or default complained of. For continuing injury or damage, the statutory period is 12 months after cessation.

Sources

Kenya Law - Employment Act - Casual definition, conversion, written terms, leave, termination, remedies and limitation periods. Kenya Law - Regulation of Wages (General) (Amendment) Order, 2024 - Listed daily minimum wages, effective date and housing treatment. Kenya Revenue Authority - PAYE - Employer PAYE deduction, filing and remittance obligations. National Social Security Fund - Employer Obligations - Employer and employee registration and contribution remittance deadline. Kenya Law - Social Health Insurance Regulations - Registration, deduction and remittance duties for salaried employees. Kenya Law - Work Injury Benefits Act - Occupational accident reporting duties.

Frequently asked questions

Does a casual worker become permanent after one month?+

Not automatically permanent and pensionable. Section 37 deems the arrangement a monthly-paid contract when continuous working days aggregate to at least one month, or when the separate work-duration test applies. The monthly-contract notice rule then applies, with a further entitlement to ordinary employment terms after continuous service of two months or more from first engagement.

Are casual workers entitled to annual leave and sick leave?+

Assess converted workers against the Employment Act’s service-based entitlements rather than excluding them because they were originally casual. Annual leave is at least 21 working days with full pay after every 12 consecutive months. After two consecutive months, statutory sick leave is at least seven days on full pay and seven on half pay in each 12-month period, subject to the statutory conditions.

Must an employer add house allowance to a casual worker’s daily wage?+

The listed daily and hourly rates in the 2024 General Wages Order already include housing allowance. Its monthly rates exclude housing allowance. Use the correct occupation, location and payment basis rather than treating a monthly basic rate as an all-inclusive daily rate.

Can an employer dismiss a converted casual worker without notice or a hearing?+

Conversion brings the monthly-contract rule of at least 28 days’ written notice, or employer payment in lieu. Before termination for misconduct, poor performance or physical incapacity, section 41 requires an explanation and an opportunity to respond with the permitted companion present. Paying notice does not replace that hearing.

Can a casual worker complain to the Labour Office?+

Yes, section 37 expressly preserves the complaint route to a labour officer. Employment contract claims generally have a three-year limitation period from the act, neglect or default complained of. For continuing injury or damage, the statutory period is 12 months after cessation.