Can your employer change your job, pay or work station without your agreement?
Employment Act, 2007 · sources read 4 Oct 2026
Your written terms, such as your job, pay, place of work and hours, can only be changed after your employer consults you, and the change must be put in writing within one month. If your employer makes a serious one-sided change, the courts can treat it as a breach that may amount to dismissal.
- Deadline
- A court case under the Employment Act or your contract must be filed within 3 years of the act complained of (12 months after it stops, for a continuing wrong).
- Where
- Your employer first; then the area labour officer or the Employment and Labour Relations Court
Steps
- Ask to be consulted. Before your terms change, your employer must talk with you, revise the contract and tell you of the change in writing.
- Ask for the written statement of the change. It is due as soon as possible, and no later than one month after the change.
- If you can't agree, report it to the area labour officer. The officer registers your complaint and calls you and your employer to a conciliation meeting.
- You can also take the dispute to the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
Watch out
- A change that breaks an essential term of your contract can let you treat the contract as ended, which courts call constructive dismissal. You have to prove the breach.
- If your employer can't produce your written contract in a dispute, it is up to the employer to prove what the terms were.
Who this covers
- Employees with a contract of service. Your contract must state your place of work, hours and pay.
Official sources (4)
- Employment Act (Cap. 226), consolidated new.kenyalaw.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Handling of Labour Disputes labour.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Coca Cola East & Central Africa Limited v Maria Kagai Ligaga [2015] KECA 394 (KLR) new.kenyalaw.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Constitution of Kenya, 2010 new.kenyalaw.org · read 3 Oct 2026