Summary
- Elite Capital Club East Africa whose members include the biggest business names in town is facing workers revolt for putting more than 50 staff on indefinite unpaid leave.
- The workers have threatened to sue the club for sending them on unpaid leave from April 1 without consultation or their consent.
- The employees say the move amounts to redundancy and should, therefore, be paid for earned leave days, one-month salary in lieu of notice and service pay for each year worked.
Elite Capital Club East Africa whose members include the biggest
business names in town is facing workers revolt for putting more than
50 staff on indefinite unpaid leave.
The workers have threatened to sue the club for sending them on unpaid leave from April 1 without consultation or their consent.
The
employees say the move amounts to redundancy and should, therefore, be
paid for earned leave days, one-month salary in lieu of notice and
service pay for each year worked.
They want the
exclusive private members club — where more than 500 members pay
hundreds of thousands to join — to recall the notice directing the staff
go on indefinite leave.
“The rationale used to pick on
our clients is questionable, unfair, irrational and lacks goodwill and
compassion,” says a letter from the workers’ lawyers to Vishal Agarwal,
chairman of Capital Club.
“We have instructions to commence legal measures for purposes of
protecting our clients’ interests without any notice,” the law firm
says in the letter.
To stem the coronavirus spread, the
government has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew and banned public
gatherings including the closure of bars, golf clubs and nightclubs.
This has hit clubs hard, forcing many to cut workers’ pay and put others on unpaid leave. The Business Daily was unable to get a comment from Mr Agarwal who replaced the late Bob Collymore, who died last July.
Other
members of the club include the country’s top bankers, private equity
investors, entrepreneurs, ambassadors and the odd international art
dealer, as well as global corporates who provide staff membership as a
useful perk.
For visitors from out of town, Capital
Club has reciprocal deals with several overseas counterparts, including
International associate clubs.
The club also retained
about 18 senior and junior staff including general manager, finance
controller, executive chef, accounts payable, cost controller and three
membership managers.
Kimani & Muriithi Associates
states that the treatment of the seven contravenes the club’s employee
handbook that says no employee can be sent on unpaid leave without being
consulted and consenting.
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