Do you need a written employment contract?
Employment Act; State Department for Labour and Skills Development · sources read 2 Oct 2026
Both oral and written job contracts are covered by the Employment Act, but a job of three months or more must be in writing. Your employer must draw up the written contract and, if you can't read it or understand its language, explain it to you in a language you understand.
- Deadline
- The written particulars of your job must be given within two months of starting
- Deadline
- A court case under the Employment Act or your contract must start within 3 years of what happened (12 months after a continuing wrong stops)
- Where
- Your area labour office; the Employment and Labour Relations Court
Steps
- Check the contract states your name, the employer, job description, start date, form and length of the contract, place of work, hours, pay and how it is worked out, and how often you're paid.
- Agree to it by signing, or by putting your thumbprint in front of someone other than your employer.
- Report it to the labour officer in your area. They register your complaint on Form LD 64 and call you and the employer to a conciliation meeting.
- You can also take the case to the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which hears employment disputes.
Watch out
- If you can't read, or don't understand the contract's language, your employer must have it explained to you in a language you understand.
- The Act's leave, housing and other basic conditions are minimum terms. Better terms in your contract, a collective agreement or a court award apply instead.
- An employer can only ask for clearance or compliance certificates once it intends to hire you.
Who this covers
- Every employee, whether the contract is oral or written.
- A written contract is required for work of three months or more, or work that can't reasonably be finished within three months.
Official sources (4)
- Employment Act, 2007 (No. 11 of 2007) labour.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Employment (Amendment) Act, 2022 (No. 15 of 2022), Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 62 labour.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Constitution of Kenya, 2010 new.kenyalaw.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Handling of Labour Disputes labour.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026