Kenya
Kenya’s a great place to hire remote talent. But labor laws are complicated, and it’s nearly impossible to figure out how to hire there on your own. That’s what we’re for. By the end of this page, you’ll know exactly how you can hire remote talent in Kenya—without spending thousands in fees.
Country snapshot
CURRENCY
Kenyan Shilling (KES)
EMPLOYER TAXES
6.5%
PAYROLL FREQUENCY
Monthly
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
Swahili,English
It’s the fastest way to hire globally
Hiring employees takes months, at the minimum. When you hire with Thera's locally-generated contracts, it’s a matter of days or weeks. This means you can hire the best talent, fast, without losing them to a hellish procession of paperwork.
It’s a lot cheaper
It costs just $0 to sign up for Thera, then $25 per month to hire your contractors with Thera. If you hired employees manually (or did contracting on your own), you’d likely be on the hook for thousands of dollars each month. Setting up an entity alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
It’s more flexible for you & your team
Can be less risky than hiring employees
Hiring employees is a bigger commitment, and can open you up to increased liabilities and regulations. When you hire contractors overseas, your biggest risk is misclassification—but laws surrounding contractor classification are often significantly more straightforward.
Some people want to be employees
The contractor life isn’t for everyone—some people want the security that being an employee often appears to provide. Though it’s rare, this does happen, and it’s one disadvantage of manage an all-contractor team.
You might not have as much control over your talent
Most countries’ contractor-employer relationship laws stipulate that the employer can’t set fixed working hours, among other things. These laws give contractors more freedom over how and when they do their work than an employee would have. In reality, however, most contractors are willing & able to work on the company’s schedule—it’s a matter of setting expectations beforehand.
Laws about hiring are complicated. Especially when they’re in countries you’re not used to hiring in. But we’re here to make things simple. Below, you’ll learn the two options you have for hiring in Kenya—and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Hire talent as contractors
Hire talent as employees
If you’ve read up until this point, you’ll know that it’s easier, cheaper, and more flexible to hire contractors in Kenya than employees. Still, there are valid reasons why you might want to hire employees instead. The content below is for you—we’ll cover employer taxes and obligations in Kenya.
Employer tax
National Social Security Fund
National Housing Development Fund
Paid Time Off (PTO)
PTO is calculated by the:
- An employee is entitled to 21 days of paid annual leave after the completion of 12 months of employment.
Public Holidays
There are 13 public holidays. If a holiday falls on a Sunday, then the proceeding Monday is observed.
Sick Days
The duration of sick leave entitlement provided to workers is dependent on how long they have been employed by their employer:
- For every 12–month period, an employee is entitled to a total of 14 days of sick leave.
- The first 7 days are paid at 100% of the regular pay rate and 50% for the remaining 7 days.
- To be eligible for this leave, the employee must have completed at least 2 months of employment.
- Also, the employee must be able to provide a medical certificate.
Maternity Leave
Women are entitled to 91 days of maternity leave paid at 100% of the regular pay rate.
To be eligible, the woman has to give at least 7 days’ notice to their employer when the leave is intended to be taken and must be able to provide a medical certificate.
Paternity Leave
Fathers are entitled to 2 weeks paid paternity leave.
Parental Leave
In the event of adoption for married employees, the same laws for maternity and paternity leave apply, however, instead of 7 days’ notice for the mother, 14 days’ notice must be given to the employer.
Other Leave
None.
Marriage Leave
None.
Bereavement Leave
None.
Termination Process
The employer must first conduct a hearing when termination is being considered for misconduct, performance, or physical incapacity to perform duties. The employee is entitled to have a union representative or another employee present in the hearing.
A termination letter with just cause must be provided.
When the employer initiates the termination of an employment agreement, final wages must be paid out on the termination date.
If the employee has been employed for more than 4 weeks, the employer is obligated to provide a certificate of employment after the employment agreement has ended.
Notice Period
The notice period in Kenya is:
When the employee receives wages on a daily basis, no notice is required.
When the employee is paid on a monthly basis, a 28-day written notice must be given by either the employee or employer. It is also possible to give payment in lieu of notice.
Severance Pay
There are no provisions in the law regarding severance pay except for when the reason for termination is redundancy.
In this case, severance pay is 15 days of wages for every year of employment.
Probation Period
The probation period in Kenya is 6 months. If the employer dismisses the employee during this time, 7 days’ notice or payment in lieu must be given.
Working Hours
A full work week is 52 hours for daytime employees and 60 for employees who work nights.
Hours worked cannot exceed more than 116 hours in any 2– week period for daytime employees and 144 hours for nighttime employees.
Overtime
Overtime is paid at the rate of 150% of the regular pay.
%5B1%5D.avif)
Run your global workforce on autopilot with Thera
Book a demo to get started.