Transfers in Public Service will no longer be a tool of punishment for officers at loggerheads with their superiors, as the majority of Members of Parliament backed a Bill seeking to streamline how transfers are done.

During the debate on the Employment (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which seeks to tighten guidelines for the transfer of government employees from one station or department to another, MPs pointed out that most superiors have used their powers to punish employees under them during transfers.

“The principal object of this Bill is to amend the provisions of the Employment Act, 2007, to regulate transfer of employees by employers from one place of work to another,” the Bill states.

The proposed law, sponsored by Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa, seeks to compel employers to give adequate time to an employee marked for transfer before the process is effected.

Didmus Barasa — Kimilili MP Didmus Wekesa Barasa speaks to the media at Bunge Tower Nairobi on June 18, 2025.

Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group

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The employer will also be compelled to pay the employee in advance before effecting the transfer.

“An employee who wishes to transfer to another place of work shall notify the employer in writing of the intention to move to another place of work,” reads the Bill.

According to the Bill, the employer shall also inform the employee of the implications of the transfer on the employee’s contract of service.

“The Bill therefore seeks to provide clarity on the modalities of transfer of employees in good faith and in a fair, meritorious, rational manner that will benefit both the employee and the employer.”

The Bill stipulates that before an employer transfers an officer, the transfer should be done in a manner that prevents demoralization, dissatisfaction and family integration and disorientation on the part of the employees.

The Bill provides that where an employee is to be transferred, the employer shall give the employee the reasons for the intended transfer and the effects on his career progress.

According to the Bill, an employee who is the subject of disciplinary proceedings shall not be transferred until such proceedings are concluded, and all mechanisms for appeal under the constitution or any other written law, have been exhausted.

This proposal is meant to cure the culture where people are transferred to hardship areas as a form of punishment.

Where a transfer is effected for an employee facing disciplinary action, the transfer shall not preclude the employer from conducting disciplinary proceedings or taking disciplinary action against the employee.

“Unless otherwise provided in an agreement between an employee and an employer, the transfer of an employee shall not break the continuity of the period of employment or terminate or vary the contract of service of any employee,” reads the Bill.

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While moving the Bill, Mr Barasa pointed out that some transfers are not necessary but are occasioned by a disagreement between the superior and the junior officer

“We are putting an end to these erratic transfers; employees must be given enough time to prepare for the transfer,” Mr Barasa said.

According to Mr Barasa, the adequate time that will be given to the employee will give the civil servants, especially those with low income, time to prepare before moving to the new station

Mr Barasa also pointed out that if the Bill is enacted into law, those with medical conditions and who are facing transfers will have time to check whether the new station has enough medical specialists to continue attending to them.

DNBungeSRC2111 — Kimilili Member of Parliament Didmus Wekesa Barasa before the Departmental Committee on Labour at Parliament buildings Nairobi on Tuesday, November 21, 2023.

Photo credit: File | Nation

“We have some women who have suffered because of sexual harassment; when they say no, they are transferred to those far-flung areas. This must come to an end,” Mr Barasa said.

Kilifi North MP Owen Baya, while supporting the Bill, said transfers should be done to make a person better and utilize his skills and not as a form of punishment.

“We need to give dignity to transfer; you don’t just transfer someone to punish him. Transfers shouldn’t be a measure of punishment. Sometimes we see bosses acting on feelings; just because he doesn’t like a person, the person is transferred without looking at the skills,” Mr Baya said.

“I have seen a pregnant woman who is one month due being transferred to a far-flung area without due regard to maternal care in that area; I have seen a sick person being transferred; I have a person with six months left to retire being transferred to an area far away from his region. This must stop,” Mr Baya added.

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According to Mr Baya, transfers should be an enabler of progress and not meant to be a tool to kill the careers of others.

“We have seen teachers transferred and when they moved to a new area, things changed in that school. Those are the kind of transfers we want,” Mr Baya said.

Marsabit Woman Representative Naomi Wako said some people have suffered at the hands of their bosses

“Many times employees' requests for transfer to join their families have been rejected. This has affected the family setup and the social fabric,” she said.

“Most of the time, as human beings, we want to show others that we have more power than others and through this, many families have been affected without the bosses knowing,” Ms Wako said.

The Bill sailed through the second reading and will now be considered in the committee of the whole House, where various amendments will be proposed by members.

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