Overtime disputes are one of the most common causes of staff grievances in Kenyan SMEs. The root cause is almost always the same: no reliable record of hours worked.
What the law says
Under the Employment Act, overtime rates depend on when the extra hours are worked. Weekday overtime is paid at 1.5× the normal rate; Sunday and public holiday work is at 2×. These apply after the contractual hours are exceeded.
The practical fix
The single biggest improvement most businesses can make is moving from manual sign-in sheets to a digital attendance system that timestamps clock-in and clock-out. This creates an audit trail both parties can trust.