The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been ordered to reinstate and compensate a teacher who was unfairly demoted and subjected to unlawful salary deductions, leaving him with a shocking net pay of only Ksh1.25 per month.
The directive follows an investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman, also known as the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ), which found that TSC violated both labour laws and constitutional provisions guaranteeing fair treatment of employees.
According to the Ombudsman’s findings, the teacher was demoted from headteacher to assistant teacher without being given a fair hearing or consultation, contrary to the Employment Act and the Fair Administrative Action Act.
“The demotion was unfair and constitutes an unfair labour practice, violating both the Employment Act and the Fair Administrative Action Act, which require prior consultation with the employee and a fair procedure,” the CAJ report stated.
How the Tribulations Began
The teacher’s troubles started in 2021 when TSC began making continuous deductions from his salary — amounting to Ksh515,847.85 — to recover what it termed as overpayment. These deductions left the teacher struggling to survive, prompting him to lodge a formal complaint with the Ombudsman in October 2024.
The teacher had served as a headteacher at Mbimbini Primary School from 2014 to 2017 before being transferred to Sakai Primary School as an assistant teacher. TSC later claimed that his headteacher appointment had been made in error and sought to recover all payments from 2017 onward.
However, the Ombudsman faulted TSC for failing to provide evidence of how the alleged appointment error occurred or who was responsible. The Commission also cited Section 10(5) and Section 19(3) of the Employment Act, emphasizing that employers must consult employees before altering their employment terms and ensure workers retain at least one-third of their salary.
The Ombudsman has now directed TSC to reinstate the teacher to his rightful position, refund all unlawfully deducted amounts, and pay outstanding dues dating back to August 2021.
