Justice Stella Rutto ruled that months of delayed, piecemeal salary payments forced Dr Caleb Omenge Moseti out of Havana Hospital. The court awarded him KSh671,923, rejected the hospital’s counterclaim and declared his departure unfair termination.
A doctor who quit after months of delayed salary payments has won KSh671,923.10 against his former employer.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court found that Havana Hospital Limited constructively dismissed Dr Caleb Omenge Moseti.
Justice Stella Rutto ruled that the hospital’s financial difficulties did not excuse its failure to pay wages promptly.
The judgement, delivered on October 23, 2026, awarded the doctor compensation, unpaid salaries and other terminal dues.
The hospital must also pay interest and legal costs after losing its counterclaim over his abrupt departure.
Salary Struggles
Dr Moseti joined Havana Hospital as a Resident Medical Officer on September 14, 2024.
Under a verbal employment agreement, he was entitled to a net monthly salary of KSh120,000.
However, the payment problems began almost immediately, with the hospital repeatedly splitting his salary into instalments.
For October 2024, he received KSh50,000 on November 21 and the remaining KSh70,000 five days later.
His December salary arrived through four payments, stretching from January 16 to February 25, 2025.
The pattern continued into the new year, with his January salary completed only on March 13.
For February, the hospital paid him KSh70,000 on April 3 and another KSh50,000 after his resignation.
That final payment arrived on May 5, five days after he left employment.
Dr Moseti told the court that the delays caused financial hardship and made meeting his obligations increasingly difficult.
In his resignation letter dated April 30, 2025, he cited prolonged salary delays and inadequate communication.
He argued that the hospital’s conduct had made continued employment intolerable, effectively forcing him to leave.
Hospital Defence
Havana Hospital acknowledged the salary delays but blamed difficulties arising from Kenya’s transition from NHIF to SHA.
The transition took effect on October 1, 2024, during the early months of Dr Moseti’s employment.
Hospital director Sales Yattani testified that delayed insurance reimbursements had severely affected the institution’s cash flow.
He identified Medical Administrator Kenya Limited as a principal insurance partner allegedly owing substantial outstanding payments.
Yattani said the hospital had informed staff about salary difficulties through an internal memorandum dated February 15, 2025.
However, the hospital maintained that Dr Moseti resigned voluntarily and failed to provide the required one-month notice.
It accused him of abandoning his responsibilities despite knowing he was the hospital’s only doctor.
According to Yattani, his departure disrupted medical services and forced referrals to neighbouring facilities.
He further alleged that patient files stored on the doctor’s assigned computer became temporarily inaccessible.
The hospital argued that these circumstances threatened continuity of care and exposed it to potential negligence claims.
But the court ultimately rejected the hospital’s attempt to make the doctor financially liable for his departure.
Fundamental Breach
Justice Rutto relied on the Court of Appeal’s decision in Coca Cola East & Central Africa Limited v Maria Kagai Ligaga [2015] KECA 394.
The precedent establishes that constructive dismissal can arise when an employer fundamentally breaches an employment contract.
The judge examined whether the hospital’s conduct made continued employment unreasonable or undermined essential contractual obligations.
She concluded that timely remuneration was fundamental to the relationship between Dr Moseti and his employer.
The judgement stated that the hospital’s failure to pay wages promptly “constituted a fundamental breach that went to the root of the employment contract.”
The court acknowledged the hospital’s financial difficulties but rejected them as sufficient justification for withholding timely payment.
“Nothing prevented it from engaging the Claimant and agreeing on a mutually acceptable payment plan,” Justice Rutto observed.
The court also invoked Section 17(1) of the Employment Act, which requires employers to pay wages earned.
Article 41(1) of the Constitution guarantees every person the right to fair labour practices.
Justice Rutto found that repeated salary delays caused financial hardship and amounted to an unfair labour practice.
She consequently ruled that Dr Moseti was entitled to treat himself as constructively dismissed.
His resignation therefore constituted unfair termination, despite the hospital’s insistence that he had left voluntarily.
KSh672,000 Award
The court awarded Dr Moseti KSh360,000, equivalent to three months’ salary, for unfair termination.
It also granted KSh120,000 in lieu of notice, alongside KSh150,000 in outstanding March and April salaries.
The March balance was KSh30,000 after the hospital paid KSh90,000 on July 11, 2025.
His full April salary of KSh120,000 remained payable following the constructive dismissal finding.
The judge further awarded KSh6,923.10 for accrued annual leave and KSh35,000 in service gratuity.
The leave claim succeeded because the hospital failed to produce records required under Section 74(1)(f) of the Employment Act.
The service gratuity claim also succeeded because the hospital failed to establish that statutory exclusions applied.
However, the doctor’s overtime claim failed because he had not provided sufficient evidence of excessive working hours.
The court emphasised that missing employer records do not automatically prove an employee’s overtime claim.
The final monetary award stood at KSh671,923.10, attracting interest at court rates from October 23, 2026.
Havana Hospital must also issue Dr Moseti a certificate of service within fourteen days of judgement.
The hospital was ordered to pay the costs of both the main claim and its unsuccessful counterclaim.
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The ruling reinforces a central employment principle: financial difficulties do not automatically excuse persistent failures to pay earned wages.
For employees, it confirms that repeated salary delays can justify resignation and support a constructive dismissal claim.
For employers, the judgement underscores the importance of timely remuneration, transparent communication and negotiated payment arrangements.
Ultimately, the court found that Havana Hospital’s conduct had transformed the doctor’s resignation into unfair termination.
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