# Hiring in Kenya Review edition — pending Theo Smith approval. ## Who has the right to work? A Class D permit is tied to specific employment with a specific employer and requires skills or qualifications unavailable in Kenya and an employment benefit to Kenya. An EOR service offer alone does not establish this permit eligibility. Applies to: Kenyan Class D employment permit; other nationality or permit routes must be checked separately Still to establish: Nationality and current status, actual sponsor, skills evidence, understudy and permit approval before unauthorised work - Nationality and current status, actual sponsor, skills evidence, understudy and permit approval before unauthorised work Next step: Confirm Nationality and current status, actual sponsor, skills evidence, understudy and permit approval before unauthorised work. - [Kenya Directorate of Immigration Services](https://immigration.go.ke/class-d-employment/) Checked 2026-09-28. Research status: partial. ## What must happen before the person starts? A Class D permit is tied to specific employment with a specific employer and requires skills or qualifications unavailable in Kenya and an employment benefit to Kenya. An EOR service offer alone does not establish this permit eligibility. Applies to: Kenyan Class D employment permit; other nationality or permit routes must be checked separately Still to establish: Nationality and current status, actual sponsor, skills evidence, understudy and permit approval before unauthorised work - Nationality and current status, actual sponsor, skills evidence, understudy and permit approval before unauthorised work Next step: Confirm Nationality and current status, actual sponsor, skills evidence, understudy and permit approval before unauthorised work. - [Kenya Directorate of Immigration Services](https://immigration.go.ke/class-d-employment/) Checked 2026-09-28. Research status: partial. ## What does employment cost above salary? For a locally employed Kenyan worker, the employer pays NSSF at 6% of pensionable monthly earnings up to KES 108,000, plus the 1.5% Affordable Housing Levy on gross monthly salary. Work-injury insurance and any training levy need a separate quote or applicability check. Employee SHIF, NSSF and income tax are deductions, not added employer cost. Applies to: {"countryCode": "KE", "subnational": null, "worker": "resident office employee baseline; foreign-national route separately unresolved"} - WIBA premium - NITA applicability - benefit and occupation exceptions Next step: Confirm WIBA premium. - [Kenya NSSF](https://www.nssf.or.ke/notice-to-employers-year-4-2026-nssf-contribution-rates) - [Kenya Revenue Authority](https://www.kra.go.ke/component/kra_faq/faq/733) - [Boundless](https://boundlesshq.com/guides/kenya/) Checked 2026-09-28. Research status: partial. ## What must the agreement contain? For written contracts covered by section 9, section 10 requires the statutory employment particulars no later than two months after employment begins. They include role, location, hours, remuneration, payment interval, leave, notice and applicable collective agreements. Applies to: Kenya Employment Act sections 9–10; this deadline does not waive other prestart duties Still to establish: Contract category, all required particulars, wage order, working time and collective agreement - Contract category, all required particulars, wage order, working time and collective agreement Next step: Confirm Contract category, all required particulars, wage order, working time and collective agreement. - [Kenya Ministry of Labour](https://www.labour.go.ke/sites/default/files/law/The_Employment_Act_2007.pdf) Checked 2026-09-28. Research status: partial. ## When must payroll and payments happen? PAYE returns and payment of employee tax withheld are due by the ninth day of the following month. This is an employer remittance deadline, not the employee’s salary payday. The employer must remit both employer and employee Affordable Housing Levy payments within nine working days after the end of the month in which the payment is due. Applies to: Kenyan PAYE employer obligation Still to establish: Salary payday, NSSF, SHIF, other levies and any filing exceptions Applies to: Kenya Affordable Housing Levy; working days differ from calendar days Still to establish: Payroll calendar, other remittances and provider funding cutoff - Salary payday, NSSF, SHIF, other levies and any filing exceptions - Payroll calendar, other remittances and provider funding cutoff Next step: Confirm Salary payday, NSSF, SHIF, other levies and any filing exceptions. - [Kenya Revenue Authority](https://www.kra.go.ke/component/kra_faq/faq/729) - [Kenya Revenue Authority](https://www.kra.go.ke/component/kra_faq/faq/733) Checked 2026-09-28. Research status: partial. ## What happens at exit? For monthly-paid employment, section 35 provides twenty-eight days’ written termination notice, subject to longer contractual notice. Redundancy under section 40 includes at least fifteen days’ pay per completed year of service and separate notice, leave and process requirements. Applies to: Kenya Employment Act ordinary monthly-paid employment and redundancy; lawful reason and procedure remain necessary Still to establish: Contract, lawful grounds, consultation and notice recipients, calculation base and final-pay timing - Contract, lawful grounds, consultation and notice recipients, calculation base and final-pay timing Next step: Confirm Contract, lawful grounds, consultation and notice recipients, calculation base and final-pay timing. - [Kenya Law](https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/act/2007/11/eng%402017-07-03/source) Checked 2026-09-28. Research status: partial. ## Can a Kenyan contractor keep the same take-home pay after moving to an EOR? Applies to: Kenyan employment subject to PAYE; individual reliefs and other deductions vary Possibly, but a contractor’s invoice value cannot be treated as the employee’s net salary. Obtain a Kenyan gross-to-net illustration at the proposed salary and price employer charges separately before making a take-home promise. Supported rule: KRA requires employers to deduct PAYE from employee emoluments at the applicable rates and remit it by the ninth day of the following month. - Employee tax status and reliefs - Current NSSF, SHIF and housing-levy treatment - Historical contractor classification and EOR eligibility Illustrative example: If the contractor invoices KES 120,000, a KES 120,000 gross employment offer is not evidence of the same take-home pay. The existing KES 8,280 employer-component example is also not an employee net-pay calculation. - [KRA: PAYE](https://www.kra.go.ke/component/kra_faq/faq/729) ## Can our manager promote a Kenyan EOR employee by email? Applies to: Changes to statutory employment particulars under the Kenyan Employment Act Treat the manager’s email as a proposal to the legal employer. Get the revised duties, pay and effective date documented and accepted into payroll, with the employee consultation and agreement required for the change. Supported rule: Employment Act section 13 requires written notification of relevant changes at the earliest opportunity and generally within one month; certain overseas-work changes require earlier notice. - Employee agreement and applicable collective terms - Whether duties change a wage or overtime category - Payroll cutoff and corrected contributions Illustrative example: A promotion effective 1 October should have one agreed effective date across the amendment and payroll instructions. The notification deadline is not permission to impose an otherwise unlawful change. - [Kenya Ministry of Labour: Employment Act](https://www.labour.go.ke/sites/default/files/law/The_Employment_Act_2007.pdf)