Kenya to shift civil servants from permanent terms to contracts

The government of Kenya has unveiled a proposal to transition the country’s civil service workforce from permanent and pensionable terms to fixed-term contracts. This policy shift, which targets more than one million public officers, aims to address the unsustainable growth of the national wage bill and instill a culture of performance-based accountability across all levels of government.

The transition is expected to affect a wide range of public sector roles, including those supporting the nation’s infrastructure and construction sectors. Under the new framework, employees who currently enjoy indefinite tenure will move to contracts that are renewable based on measurable results.

The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Performance, and Delivery Management, Moses Kuria, indicated that the move is necessary to align the public service with the National Wage Bill. Currently, public servants consume over 50 per cent of the country's tax revenue, a figure the executive describes as a significant burden on the national treasury.

This reform follows previous shifts in specialized sectors of the public service. For instance, the Parliamentary Service Commission successfully transitioned senior management officials to five-year contracts starting in 2021. The current proposal seeks to expand this model to the broader civil service, including technical and administrative staff.

The government maintains that the new terms will improve service delivery by making employment conditional on meeting performance targets. By moving away from the "permanent" designation, the state hopes to eliminate complacency and create a more responsive workforce.

Under the proposed guidelines, contracts will remain pensionable, although the duration of service will be fixed. This distinction is intended to protect the retirement benefits of workers while allowing the government to manage its human resource requirements more flexibly.

Legal experts have noted that any unilateral variation of existing employment contracts may face hurdles under the Employment Act 2007. To comply with the law, the government must engage in thorough consultations with civil servants and their representative unions before implementing the conversion.

The Public Service Commission has previously explored three-year contract cycles for new entrants, aiming to phase out permanent terms at entry cadres. The current push signifies a broader intent to apply these rules to existing staff as well.

Legislators supporting the reform argue that fixed-term contracts will create more opportunities for Kenya's youth. By increasing staff turnover and emphasizing merit, the government believes it can modernize public institutions and ensure taxpayers receive value for money.

The proposal will now undergo cabinet review and further stakeholder engagement. If approved, it will represent the most significant overhaul of Kenya’s public labor market in decades, directly impacting the workforce responsible for overseeing major national projects and administrative services.