Promotion path: Shock for State firm's employees

Employees of State corporations will not be automatically promoted after advancing their studies. According to the State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC) Secretary, Simon Indimuli, such employees will be required to apply for vacant positions should they arise.

Indimuli said that upgrading a staff member who was hired without a degree to a position requiring a degree, solely on the basis of having obtained one, is tantamount to mischievously filling a vacant post without opening it up to a competitive and transparent process.

He noted that the practice of upgrading officers to higher grades due to acquired degree certificates could also imply that the staff establishment is porous enough to absorb any number of certificate-holders, without regard for capping within the complement control system.

Indimuli made the remarks in an advisory to the Geothermal Development Company (GDC), which had sought guidance on how to handle the grading of officers who obtain undergraduate degrees while in service.

“Please note that whenever there is a vacancy at any State corporation, such a vacancy is supposed to be filled openly and competitively, as required by the Constitution of Kenya (2010) and the approved Human Resource (HR) Instruments,” read part of the advisory dated May 7, 2025.

Indimuli noted that any staff member of a State corporation can apply for an advertised job in a higher grade through an open and competitive process.

He added that it is common for serving staff to aspire to, pursue, and attain higher qualifications. However, the attainment of such qualifications is for their benefit, and for future opportunities where those qualifications may enable them to apply for jobs either internally or externally.

“The above observations therefore make any attempt to discreetly upgrade staff into degree cadres, on account of in-service acquired qualifications, unconstitutional, illegal, and an affront to the ethics of a complement control system,” further read the advisory.

Following the advisory, the GDC General Manager, Corporate Services, in an internal memo to all staff dated May 12 2025 and titled “Guidance on academic qualifications attained while in service”, noted that GDC, as a State corporation, is required to comply with government guidelines and directives issued from time to time.

“As guided by SCAC in the attached letter, and as more positions within the company become available for competitive filling, all staff are encouraged to apply for these positions either internally or externally for career advancement. We appreciate and applaud all staff who have used their time and personal resources to further their education,” read the memo.

The directive has, however, caused an uproar among workers, who cite discrimination against unionise employees.

Kenya Electrical Trades & Allied Workers’ Union National General Secretary, Ernest Nadome, expressed concern over what he termed as the selective application of the SCAC employment practices circular dated May 7, 2025 and communicated to all employees on May 12, 2025.

Nadome noted that the communication undermines staff morale and their right to career growth, as provided for in the HR Instruments.

He added that there is sufficient evidence that employees who completed undergraduate qualifications while in service were previously promoted without external recruitment—despite the implementation of the HRPP (2018). This action, he said, was taken with full management endorsement, confirming that in-service academic advancement has historically been a valid pathway to professional growth within GDC.

The implementation of SCAC recommendations at lower ranks, while excluding similar situations at higher levels, Nadome said, contradicts the principles of equality, meritocracy, and fair opportunity.