By JOHN KARIUKI
If the many radio phone-in programmes are anything to go by, Kenyans love to talk about corruption in high places and to pile pressure on the affected people to resign.
But dishonesty is not the preserve of public officers, and has been know to raise its ugly head in the workplace. Many employees are routinely disciplined for it.
According to human resources practitioners, any breach of trust will cast a long shadow across people’s career paths for along time. The offenders simply hand their bosses the perfect reason not to vouch for their promotion or to allocate them more sensitive roles.
Jeff Ndereba, a Nairobi-based civil servant, says dishonesty in the workplace takes many forms.
"These include stealing of employers’ money and the unauthorised use of other resources for personal gain," says Ndereba.
Dishonesty
He includes the rampant cases of false claims of illness, saying it is among the biggest form of dishonesty in a typical workplace. Other fraudulent tactics are colluding with unscrupulous clients and suppliers to falsify payments, and the misrepresentation or falsification of employee qualifications, adds Ndereba.
Though it is often overlooked, Ndereba says the practice where employees’ use their position to engage in private business is the worst offence that anybody can commit.
Due process
"It is much more serious than receiving bribes," says Ndereba.
Walter Murichu, a trade unionist, says that a breach of honesty at the workplace does not necessarily mean that the damage is irreparable.
"Every small mistake should not automatically lead to a summary dismissal," says Murichu.
He points out that there are laid down mechanisms in the employment contract or the job code of conduct that address how such matters, adds Murichu.
"But in extreme cases where an employer is compelled to exercise his or her right to dismiss a dishonest employee, the due process must be followed," he says.
This unionist says that when an employee is found to be dishonest, he or she should be given a chance to defend themselves before they are dismissed.
"Trade unions often encourage employers to explore alternative corrective measure short of dismissal," says Murichu.
Inconsistency
He says the greatest mistake am employer can is to act inconsistently when disciplining employees.
"Some employers routinely use double standards on employees who commit the same offence, which kills staff morale," says Murichu.
Murichu further advises employees not to cover up their dishonesty or other offences as this may worsen their cases. He laments that some people will commit even more fraud if they are not allowed to immediately own up their dishonesty, and show genuine remorse.
"Some people go to great lengths of in securing ‘doctors letters’ and creating alibis after small admonishment of their absence from work, instead of letting the matters die," he says.
And thus dared, many employers take up the challenge and institute full-scale inquiries, and consequential disciplinary action, says Murichu.
Oscar Kambona, a manager with a manufacturing firm, tells Job&Careers that employers are not ‘trigger happy’, waiting to sack employees who go out of turn.
"There is often a real danger that some sacked employees may go away with a chunk of business," says Kambona. He says that many bosses tend to treat key employees, like those in ICT and key production units, with kid gloves even when they err.
"A hard fact that many managers learn on the job is that one never sacks his or her key employees. This can translate as immediate depressed productivity and one’s own sack in return," says Kambona.
With the increasing awareness of employees’ rights, many corporations are wary of creating too many enemies by dismissing employees on petty issues. It is common for many employers to assess the chances of sacked employees winning their appeals in court, and what impact such eventualities would have on the firms’ image.
Get lawyers
In fact, many companies routinely employ lawyers to look at all labour aspects and advise them according before carrying out severe disciplinary action on errant employees.
