The Employment and Labour Relations Court has backed a decision by the operators of supermarket chain Carrefour to summarily dismiss a former head of its retail store in Kisumu for accepting undisclosed Sh40,000 cash payments from a registered supplier.

The court ruled that Cornelius Bulimo breached the company's code of ethics by accepting two equal batches of Sh20,000 payments from a supplier, identified in court records as Peter Mbui, creating a conflict of interest while serving as the senior manager at the Kisumu branch.

"The claimant clearly breached the code of ethics in accepting money from the respondent's supplier. The Code of Ethics provides that an employee must not derive personal benefit from a relationship with an employer,” the court said as it backed the decision by the Carrefour operator, Majid Al Futtaim Hypermarkets Limited, to sack Mr Bulimo.

The court dismissed Mr Bulimo's claim that his termination was unfair but directed the retailer to pay any admitted terminal dues that remained outstanding.

Mr Bulimo joined the retailer in February 2016 as a section manager before rising through several promotions. He became Department Head in 2018, transferred to the Fresh Food Department in January 2021 and was appointed the opening Store Manager for Carrefour Kisumu in June 2021. He was dismissed in March 2022.

He sued the company claiming his dismissal followed a campaign of victimisation after he disagreed with his Area Manager during an earlier disciplinary process involving another employee.

He also alleged discrimination, denial of Covid-19 leave, wrongful suspension, and unfair disciplinary proceedings. He claimed that he was coerced into signing a misleading “final warning” letter backdated and denied his 2021 bonus.

The claimant asked the court to declare that his summary dismissal was unlawful and unfair and to award him more than Sh5 million in compensation, unpaid salary, bonus, overtime, leave, public holiday pay, costs and any other relief the court deemed appropriate.

The retailer denied the allegations, saying investigations established that he had received Sh20,000 on September 1, 2021 and another Sh20,000 on September 30, 2021 from a company that supplied cosmetic products to Carrefour.

It maintained that the transactions breached its code of ethics and amounted to gross misconduct.

The court found that the employer had established a lawful and valid reason for dismissal.

“The Code of Ethics provides that an employee must not derive personal benefit from a relationship with an employer. There is no other way that can be interpreted of the money the claimant received from Mr. Mbui, Director of Miss Beauty Company Limited, a supplier of Cosmetics to the respondent," the court said.

It added that Mr Bulimo had worked for the company for several years, understood its ethics policies and "failed to adhere to the same."

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The court noted that Mr Bulimo sought certified M-Pesa records but did not expressly deny receiving the money. The judgment also recorded that the supplier described the payments as being made on a "friendly basis".

The court said the employment contract required workers to disclose any circumstances capable of creating an undisclosed conflict of interest.

"There is no other way that can be interpreted of the money the claimant received," the court said, noting Mr Bulimo was simultaneously serving as the retailer's store manager.

On procedure, the court found the company complied with the Employment Act by issuing notices to show cause, conducting investigations, inviting him to a disciplinary hearing and considering an appeal.

"The respondent complied with the above requirements," the court ruled before concluding that the company had proved lawful and fair termination.

The court dismissed the suit and directed the retailer to pay any outstanding admitted terminal dues, including prorated salary, accrued leave and eligible public holiday pay, if those amounts had not already been settled.

jwangui@ke.nationmedia.com