This archive report was first published on 1 November 2019.
SportPesa Recalls Termination Letters ¶
On Thursday, October 31, 2019, SportPesa, a leading betting firm in Kenya, recalled all termination letters issued to its employees at the beginning of the month.
The decision was made after the firm was ordered to issue proper redundancy notices to its former employees.
According to SportPesa's CEO, Ronald Karauri, the company had decided to withdraw the letters so that they can issue proper redundancy notices.
On October 2, the firm sent home more than 400 of its employees after announcing it had halted operations in Kenya due to tough regulations.
The firm had expressed disappointment with the government's decision to impose a 20% excise tax on all betting stakes, adding to the 20% on customer winnings.
However, the company had said it would consider returning to market when adequate taxation and a non-hostile regulatory environment is returned.
On Friday, November 1, 2019, the firm's former employees received an email from the firm's head of human resources, Terry Wanja Njagi, asking them to report to the company's office at 11am.
Several of the former employees confirmed they had received the email while others were yet to receive the same.
One of the former employees was quoted by K24 as saying, 'I got the email this afternoon, and all we can now do is speculate [that, hopefully, we will have our jobs back].'
