NAIROBI, Kenya, July 1 – Parliament is seeking to amend the Employment Act to formally recognise remote workers as employees to align Kenya’s labour laws with the growing digital economy.
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah said the proposed changes will expand the definitions of “employee” and “employer” to include people working remotely, particularly those employed in business process outsourcing (BPO) and IT-enabled services.
“Clause 10 redefines employee and employer under the Employment Act to fully recognise remote workers, specifically those operating under BPOs and IT-enabled arrangements,” Ichung’wah told lawmakers.
He said the current Employment Act was designed around traditional workplaces, where employees had appointment letters, contracts and physical office locations.
“The old Employment Act was based on physical employment, where you had a letter of appointment, a contract and a physical address where you were working from,” he said.
Ichung’wah argued that the law has not kept pace with changing work arrangements, making it difficult for companies to engage remote workers under the existing legal framework.
“In today’s world, with business process outsourcing and the remote work environment, you do not necessarily need to have an appointment letter or even a physical address where you work from,” he said.
He noted that remote working expanded significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to grow, particularly among young Kenyans providing services to clients locally and abroad.
According to Ichung’wah, updating the Employment Act will help create a legal framework that supports remote work and opens up more employment opportunities in the digital economy.
