Sick leave Kenya: Employment Act employer guide

Kenya's Employment Act provides at least seven days of sick leave on full pay followed by seven on half pay after two consecutive months of service. That is a baseline, not the complete answer: the General Wages Order provides up to 30 days on full pay followed by up to 15 on half pay for employees covered by it. Agricultural-industry employees have a separate entitlement, and section 26 preserves more favourable terms, so identify the applicable rule before approving leave or reducing pay.

Which sick-leave entitlement applies?

Section 26 makes the Employment Act's Part V and Part VI terms basic minimums. More favourable terms in a regulation, collective agreement, contract, other written law, judgment, award or Industrial Court order apply instead.

Check coverage before choosing a rule

The General Wages Order expressly excludes agricultural-industry workers. Its more favourable conditions also apply to employees covered by another wage-regulation order where that other order is less favourable.

For each employee group, identify the relevant wage order, compare the sick-leave provision with the Employment Act, and check the contract and CBA. Do not configure a company-wide seven-plus-seven allowance merely because section 30 is the provision most often quoted online.

Where coverage is uncertain, obtain a labour-law review before applying the lower benefit. Record the source of the entitlement in the policy so managers and payroll use the same rule.

Eligibility, notification and medical proof

Establish the qualifying-service date

Check continuous service against the applicable threshold in the table. For a probationary employee or a recent joiner, review any contractual or CBA benefit rather than assuming the statutory threshold is the whole answer.

Keep the employment start date and qualifying-service date separate in the leave register. That helps HR distinguish an employee who has not yet qualified from one who has qualified but exhausted the available paid leave.

Use a practical notification workflow

For entitlement to sick leave with full pay under section 30, the employee must notify the employer, or cause someone to notify the employer, as soon as reasonably practicable. The notification must cover the absence and its reason.

A workable policy names the manager or HR contact, asks that person to log the notification, and allows someone else to report when the employee cannot. Do not present a fixed company reporting time as the statutory deadline: the Act uses the reasonably-practicable test.

Check the certificate against section 30

Section 30 makes the entitlement subject to a certificate of incapacity to work. It must be signed by a duly qualified medical practitioner, or someone acting on the practitioner's behalf who is in charge of a dispensary or medical-aid centre.

As an administrative practice, check the employee's identity, the stated incapacity period and the issuer's details. If something is unclear, seek clarification rather than immediately treating the absence as misconduct. Keep medical documents separate from the routine attendance register, with access limited to staff handling the case; this is a recommended handling practice, not an additional section 30 requirement.

Calculate sick pay and set the leave cycle

Do not confuse full pay with take-home pay

For section 30, full pay includes wages at the basic rate, excluding allowable deductions from wages. Do not automatically substitute gross package value or the employee's usual bank deposit for that statutory wording.

Before processing payroll, document the applicable legal or contractual pay basis, the full-pay and half-pay periods, and deductions separately. Review any more favourable wage-order, contract or CBA provision before applying the section 30 basis to every employee.

Use payroll records to keep the calculation traceable. A Kenya PAYE calculation can help assess deductions, but it does not determine the employee's sick-leave entitlement.

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

State when the annual cycle resets

Under section 30, the continuous 12-month cycle normally follows the employee's start-date anniversary. An employer may instead place all employees on an annual cycle beginning on an employer-determined anniversary date.

Suggested policy wording: "The company uses a common annual sick-leave cycle beginning on the anniversary date stated in this policy. HR records each employee's qualifying service, applicable entitlement and leave used against that cycle."

Add the chosen date before issuing the policy. When changing cycles, review the transition rather than simply overwriting existing balances.

What to do when paid sick leave runs out

Exhaustion of paid leave is a case-management point, not an automatic dismissal instruction. Use this sequence before deciding what happens next:

• Recheck coverage and balances. Confirm the applicable wage order and whether the contract or CBA provides additional paid leave.
• Update the evidence. Ask for current information about incapacity and the likely return-to-work position, rather than relying on an old certificate.
• Consider workable alternatives. Depending on the role and medical information, discuss adjusted duties, a return plan or an agreed further absence arrangement.
• Review the proposed pay treatment. Do not mechanically convert absence into annual leave or unpaid leave. Document the proposal and obtain advice on the applicable terms before implementation.
• Separate absence administration from capability decisions. Escalate a possible physical-incapacity termination for a fair-reason and fair-procedure review.

These are recommended management steps. The supplied statutory provisions do not establish an automatic annual-leave conversion rule or a universal unpaid-leave arrangement after sick pay ends.

Dismissal and prolonged illness

Section 46 says that taking, or proposing to take, leave to which an employee is entitled under law or contract is not a fair reason for dismissal or disciplinary penalty. This protection does not mean every possible termination during illness is prohibited.

Before termination for physical incapacity, section 41 requires the employer to explain the contemplated reason in a language the employee understands. The employee must be allowed accompaniment by a fellow employee or shop-floor union representative of choice, and the employer must hear and consider representations.

Sections 43 and 45 require proof of the reason, a valid and fair reason, and fair procedure. Before deciding, check that the evidence addresses capacity rather than merely counting sick days, and that the employee's response has genuinely been considered.

Under section 49, a court may award compensation not exceeding 12 months' gross wages for wrongful dismissal or unfair termination, among other remedies.

Records HR should maintain

Use an employee-management record for the administrative trail, with medical evidence stored separately. Recommended fields are:

• Start date, qualifying-service date and applicable wage order.
• Contract or CBA benefit and the entitlement selected.
• Cycle start, absence dates and full-pay or half-pay balance used.
• Notification date, recipient and certificate status.
• Payroll treatment, approval and employee communication.
• Return-to-work discussions, review decisions and any hearing records.

Record the reason for a disputed decision. An unexplained balance adjustment leaves the next manager unable to distinguish a correction from a benefit reduction.

FAQs

Is sick leave seven plus seven days or 30 plus 15?

The Employment Act baseline is seven days on full pay followed by seven on half pay after two consecutive months. The General Wages Order provides up to 30 days on full pay followed by up to 15 on half pay after two months of continuous service for covered employees. Apply the more favourable applicable terms, not automatically the baseline.

What applies to agricultural employees?

The General Wages Order excludes agricultural-industry workers. Their industry order provides up to 30 days on full pay followed by up to 30 on half pay after one month of continuous service, in each 12-month period. Check for better contractual or CBA terms too.

Does probation prevent paid sick leave?

Use the applicable service threshold rather than the probation label. The Act baseline and General Wages Order use two months, while the agricultural order uses one month. Check for an earlier contractual or CBA benefit.

Who can sign the medical certificate?

Section 30 accepts a duly qualified medical practitioner. It also accepts someone acting on that practitioner's behalf who is in charge of a dispensary or medical-aid centre.

Can an employer dismiss someone on sick leave?

Entitled leave is not a fair reason for dismissal or disciplinary penalty. Physical-incapacity termination requires a valid and fair reason and fair procedure, including the section 41 hearing safeguards.

Sources

Kenya Law: Employment Act - Sections 26 and 30 on minimum terms and sick leave; sections 41, 43, 45, 46 and 49 on termination and remedies. Kenya Law: Regulation of Wages (General) Order - Rule 2 on coverage and rule 12 on sick-leave entitlement. Kenya Law: Regulation of Wages (Agricultural Industry) Order - Rule 10 on agricultural-industry qualifying service and sick leave.

Frequently asked questions

Is sick leave in Kenya seven plus seven days or 30 plus 15?+

Section 30 of the Employment Act provides at least seven days on full pay followed by seven on half pay after two consecutive months of service. The General Wages Order provides up to 30 days on full pay followed by up to 15 on half pay after two months of continuous service for employees covered by it. Section 26 preserves more favourable terms, so the Act's baseline is not necessarily the applicable entitlement.

What sick leave applies to agricultural employees?+

The General Wages Order excludes agricultural-industry workers. Their industry order provides up to 30 days on full pay followed by up to 30 on half pay in each 12-month period, after one month of continuous service. Check for more favourable contractual or collective-agreement terms as well.

Does an employee qualify for paid sick leave during probation?+

Assess the qualifying service under the applicable rule rather than using the probation label as your decision. The Employment Act baseline and General Wages Order use a two-month service threshold, while the agricultural order uses one month. Check whether the contract or CBA provides an earlier benefit.

Who may sign the medical certificate?+

Under section 30, the certificate of incapacity to work must be signed by a duly qualified medical practitioner. It may also be signed by someone acting on that practitioner's behalf who is in charge of a dispensary or medical-aid centre. Use this statutory description when reviewing the certificate.

Can an employer dismiss someone on sick leave?+

Taking or proposing to take leave to which an employee is entitled under law or contract is not a fair reason for dismissal or disciplinary penalty. Physical incapacity may be considered separately, but termination requires a valid and fair reason and fair procedure. Section 41 requires explanation, accompaniment and consideration of the employee's representations.