SRC TO INCREASE SALARIES FOR CIVIL SERVANTS

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has announced plans to review salaries for government employees, citing widespread non-compliance with the one-third basic pay rule under the Employment Act, 2012. In a consultative engagement on June 23, SRC Chairperson Sammy Chepkwony committed to a sitting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly.
He was responding to concerns raised in the Auditor-General’s report, which flagged cases where civil servants’ take-home pay had dropped below the legal minimum due to excessive deductions.
Section 19(3) of the Employment Act restricts total deductions from an employee’s pay to no more than two-thirds of their gross salary. This guarantees that at least one-third of the salary remains as take-home pay. The same principle is reaffirmed in Section C.1 (3) of the Public Service Commission Human Resource Policies, 2016.
However, government audits have consistently revealed violations of this law across various public institutions. Deductions have often exceeded the permitted limit, raising concerns about the welfare of public servants.
The Affordable Housing Levy became partially operational on March 21, 2024. It requires a mandatory monthly deduction of 1.5 per cent of employees’ gross salaries, matched by the employer. In addition, the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), which officially replaced the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) on October 1, 2024, mandates a 2.75 per cent contribution from all residents in Kenya. The minimum monthly contribution is set at Sh300.