Toyota Kenya Limited has been ordered by the High Court to pay its former Finance Manager Sh6.2 million for wrongful dismissal over alleged gross misconduct.
Justice Linnet Ndolo on March 2, ruled that Toyota Kenya did not avail any valid reason for their finance Manager's dismissal and she was entitled to compensation for wrongful and unfair dismissal.
The judge said Toyota failed the test of following the procedures for a disciplinary hearing as required by Section 41 of the Employment Act.
She said the matter was an investigative meeting which ought to have been followed by a duly convened disciplinary meeting with an adequate lead time for her to prepare her defence.
"In the result, I award the Claimant 12 months' compensation. In arriving at this award, I have taken into in the Claimant's long service and the Respondent's unlawful conduct in bringing the employment relationship to an end," the judge ruled.
In 2019, the Finance Manager through lawyer Sam Ogutu sued Toyota Kenya claiming she was employed on March 16, 2007, as an assistant Management Accountant and was later promoted to Finance Manager on August 9, 2016.
The Manager said that she had a stellar performance record throughout her employment with Toyota Kenya.
“On February 15, 2019, I was suspended to allow Toyota to conduct further investigations, following a forensic audit report on 'Hino Special Service Campaign Project’," she said.
Ogutu said that the Manager was served with a show cause letter, citing allegations of her culpability which led to an established loss of Sh20,110,682.
She was required to respond by 3.00 pm on February 18, 2018.
“Still on the same day, the Claimant was served with a notice requiring her to attend a disciplinary hearing scheduled for February 20, 2019,”added Ogutu.
She contested that her suspension was not lifted.
