Local Kenya expertise
Our African payroll specialists configure and run your payroll — one team, one accountable contract.
Popay Payroll · Kenya PopayPayroll
Payroll in Kenya, handled the local way.
PAYE, NSSF, SHIF and the Affordable Housing Levy — applied automatically to Kenyan law, not bolted on.
Local Kenya expertise. The people who run your payroll know Kenyan HR from the inside — the Employment Act 2007, KRA, iTax and the P10/P9 filings, no shortcuts.
Talk to our African payroll team No commitment — a working conversation about your team in Kenya.
KE
KE Nairobi · East Africa — payroll built for Kenyan law
Understand HR in Kenya
Everything Kenya payroll asks of an employer — in one place.
The full local picture for Kenya: statutory contributions and the rules our engine runs natively — maintained by our Pan-African legislation team.
01 · At a glance
Kenya payroll, by the numbers
The fixed parameters every Kenya payroll run starts from.
Capital
Nairobi
Local Currency
Kenyan Shilling (KES, Ksh)
Official Language
English
STATUTORY AUTHORITIES
KRA — Kenya Revenue Authority · Social security: NSSF — National Social Security Fund · Health: SHIF — Social Health Insurance Fund · Housing: AHL — Affordable Housing Levy · Training: NITA — National Industrial Training Authority
INCOME TAX YEAR
1 January → 31 December
PAYROLL CYCLE
Monthly
MONTHLY STATUTORY DEADLINE
PAYE (iTax: Unified P10 Form) to KRA by the 9th of the following month · AHL, SHIF, NSSF, NITA: 9th of the following month · HELB: 15th of the following month
MINIMUM WAGE
KShs.16,113.75 per month
Ordinary working week
Maximum 52 hours / week
OVERTIME
At least 1.5× the normal hourly rate for hours exceeding the agreed working hours · 2× on public holidays
NOTICE PERIOD
7 days (probation) · 28 days (monthly-paid employees) · per contract terms (piece-work)
MINIMUM WORKING AGE/ RETIREMENT AGE
16 years (general)/ 60 years
MAIN LABOUR LAW
Employment Act 2007 (Cap. 226) · Labour Relations Act 2007 · National Social Security Fund Act 2013 · Affordable Housing Act 2024 · Social Health Insurance Act 2023
02 · Statutory obligations & contributions
Statutory obligations in Kenya
Declared and paid monthly by the employer to the NSSF (pension), SHIF (health), the Affordable Housing Levy and the NITA training levy — each with its own base, rate and ceiling.
| Contribution | Employer | Employee | Basis & ceilings |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Social Security Fund (NSSF) | 6% | 6% | Tiered: Tier I = 6% of KShs.9,000 (KShs.540) + Tier II = 6% of KShs.99,000 (KShs.5,940). Total max: KShs.6,480. Capped at KES 6,480 each (Total KES 12,960). Based on a max salary of KES 108,000. |
| Affordable Housing Levy (AHL) | 1.5% | 1.5% | Uncapped. Calculated on total gross salary. |
| Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) | 0% | 2.75% | Uncapped. Employee-only deduction. Min KES 300. |
| National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) | KES 50 | 0% | Employer-only cost. Cannot be deducted from the employee. |
03 · Income tax brackets
The PAYE brackets withheld for KRA
PAYE is computed on the employee’s taxable pay (gross emoluments minus allowable deductions including employee NSSF contributions). Monthly personal relief of KES 2,400 (KES 28,800 p.a.) and insurance relief of 15% of premiums paid for life or health insurance are deducted from the calculated tax. Non-resident employees are taxed at a flat 30% on employment income derived from Kenya.
PAYE Tax Bands — Monthly
- On the first KShs. 24,000
- 10%
- On the next KShs. 8,333
- 25%
- On the next KShs. 467,667
- 30%
- On the next KShs. 300,000
- 32.5%
- On all income above KShs. 800,000
- 35%
04 · Employment contracts
The five contract types set out by the Employment Act
Any contract lasting more than three months must be in writing, and each of Kenya's five contract types has its own notice and termination rules.
| Contract Type | Key Characteristics | Notice Period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent | Open-ended contract, full statutory protections. Must be in writing if > 3 months. | 28 days (monthly basis) or as per contract | |
| Fixed-Term | Specific duration or project. Ends automatically at term. Must be in writing. | 28 days, unless contract specifies otherwise | |
| Probationary | Max 6 months, extendable once (12 months total). Must be written and expressly state probation. | 7 days written notice or payment in lieu | |
| Casual | Day-to-day engagement. If continuous work >= 1 month, reclassified as monthly employee. | Terminable at close of any day (daily wage) | |
| Piece-Work | Payment based on output/task completed, not time. Common in agriculture and manufacturing. | Per contract terms |
05 · Leave & employee rights
Leave entitlements set by the Employment Act
The law sets the floor; contracts and collective agreements can add to it. Below are the statutory minimums your accruals must track.
Maternity Leave
90 days (up to 120 in some sectors), fully paid.
Paternity Leave
14 days (up to 21 in some sectors), fully paid.
Pre-adoptive Leave
1 month, fully paid.
Annual Leave
Not less than 21 working days. Fully paid (after 12 consecutive months of service)
Sick Leave
7 days full pay + 7 days half pay. Per 12-month period (after 2 months of service)
06 · Unions & collective bargaining
The sector CBA that applies to your workforce
Sector unions negotiate wages, allowances and termination terms through Collective Bargaining Agreements that feed straight into your payroll — applying the right one is part of compliance.
KNUT — Kenya National Union of Teachers
Education (primary & secondary). CBAs drive salary scales, housing allowance, commuter allowance and hardship allowance.
KUPPET — Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers
Education (secondary & tertiary). Negotiates salary increments, leave allowances and promotion criteria.
KNUN — Kenya National Union of Nurses & Midwives
Healthcare. Sets risk allowances, uniform allowances, overtime rates and on-call premiums.
KUDHEIHA
Domestic, hotels, hospitals and education institutions. Covers minimum wages, service-charge distribution, overtime and housing.
KPAWU — Kenya Plantation & Agricultural Workers Union
Agriculture, tea, coffee and floriculture. Governs piece-rate wages, seasonal bonuses, housing and transport.
Kenya County Government Workers Union
County government across the 47 counties. Negotiates salary structures, transfer allowances and hardship zones.
COTU-K — umbrella body
All sectors — 42 affiliated unions representing close to 4 million workers. Leads national minimum wage advocacy and cross-sector policy (6% increase gazetted Oct 2024). CBAs typically run on a two-year cycle.
Native Kenya payroll — and one accountable partner.
We own the gross-to-net engine
Kenyan rules — PAYE bands, NSSF tiers, SHIF, AHL and NITA — are configured natively inside our engine, not stitched from third-party aggregators.
Always current
Regulatory changes — the SHIF Act, Affordable Housing Act and NSSF phase-in — are monitored and your configuration updated, so every payslip stays compliant.
Meet Jacob Louis, your Popay expert in Kenya.
In HR, personal contact is everything — and it starts from the first exchange. Tell us about your team in Kenya and we'll map your options, plainly and without commitment.
Popay helped us simplify managing our workforce across Kenya — payroll, statutory filings and compliance in one place. Reliable, efficient, and always current with local law.
Kenya payroll, answered
Does Popay handle PAYE and the statutory filings in Kenya?
Yes. We remit PAYE to KRA through iTax and file the monthly Unified P10 return — which carries PAYE, the Affordable Housing Levy and the NITA levy together — by the 9th of the following month, with NSSF and SHIF filed on the same deadline and P9 certificates issued to employees after year-end.
Which Kenyan contributions do you calculate?
All of them: NSSF at 6% employer and 6% employee on the tiered pensionable pay (up to the KShs 108,000 ceiling), the Affordable Housing Levy at 1.5% each side, SHIF at 2.75% of gross (employee-only, minimum KES 300) and the NITA levy of KShs 50 per employee — plus HELB and Sacco deductions where they apply.
Can Popay produce a fully compliant Kenyan payslip?
Yes. Payslips are itemised as the Employment Act 2007 requires — gross salary, every statutory deduction (PAYE, NSSF, SHIF, AHL, NITA, HELB, Sacco) and net pay — delivered on or before the payment date, with payroll records retained for at least five years.
Review your HR needs in Kenya — in 30 minutes.
Questions about payroll, local compliance or digitising your processes? Take a no-commitment slot with Jacob Louis, our dedicated Kenya expert. Plain, specific, useful.
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