Can Kenyan employers make prayer sessions mandatory? What the law says

Kenyan entrepreneur and beauty school owner Carey Priscilla has sparked a debate after reports emerged that employees who miss Friday devotion sessions risk losing their workplace lunch for the day.

The controversy has raised a broader question that affects many workplaces in Kenya: Can an employer require staff to participate in religious activities, and can they punish those who decline?

While companies are free to build values-based cultures, Kenyan law draws a clear distinction between encouraging faith and compelling religious participation.

The strongest protection is found in Article 32 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, which guarantees freedom of conscience, religion, belief and opinion.

The Constitution states:

Article 32(1): “Every person has the right to freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion.”

More importantly for employment matters:

Article 32(4): “A person shall not be compelled to act, or engage in any act, that is contrary to the person’s belief or religion.”

In practical terms, this means an employer may organise voluntary prayer meetings, devotion sessions or other religious activities, but participation cannot be forced, directly or indirectly.

The Constitution further protects employees under Article 27, which provides that:

“The State shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any person on any ground, including race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, language or birth.”

If a workplace benefit such as lunch, transport, allowances or access to opportunities is tied to participation in a religious exercise, an employee could argue that the policy amounts to indirect discrimination on the basis of religion or belief.

The Employment Act, 2007 reinforces these constitutional protections.

Section 5(3)(a) requires employers to promote equal opportunity in employment and specifically prohibits discrimination on grounds including religion.

In addition, Article 41 of the Constitution guarantees every worker:

“the right to fair labour practices.”

Fair labour practices include reasonable working conditions and protection from arbitrary or humiliating treatment.

Punishing an employee for declining to participate in a religious activity could therefore expose an employer to claims of unfair labour practices, discrimination or workplace harassment.

Kenya’s Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) has repeatedly emphasised that employers must respect workers’ freedom of conscience and religion.

In disputes involving religious observance, dress, worship schedules and disciplinary action linked to faith, the court has generally applied the principle that employers have a duty to reasonably accommodate employees’ religious beliefs unless doing so would cause undue hardship to the business.

The ELRC has also held that workplace policies cannot override constitutional rights. Even where an organisation has a strong religious identity, employees retain their individual protections under the Constitution and the Employment Act.

A company may legitimately describe itself as faith-led, include prayer in meetings, or encourage spiritual values among staff. Problems arise when employees face negative consequences for non-participation.

The key legal test is whether the activity is truly voluntary. If an employee must choose between attending a devotion and losing a workplace benefit, facing disciplinary action, or suffering other disadvantages, a court is likely to view the policy as coercive rather than voluntary.