Many employees at Equity Bank have come together to raise serious concerns about how the recent performance evaluation, bonus distribution, and salary reviews for the 2024/2025 financial year were handled.
They say the process was not fair and that it lacked transparency. They have written a petition and sent it to several key institutions, including the Central Bank of Kenya, the Ministry of Labour, the Federation of Kenya Employers, and the Kenya Bankers Association.
In their petition, they say that the bank did not follow the principles of fairness and accountability as expected in labour laws and banking sector guidelines.
The employees, who claim to represent more than half of the affected workforce, want the authorities to investigate what they see as biased and unclear decisions made during the review.
A major point in their complaint is that the bank did not clearly explain how it decided who would get bonuses, salary increases, or be placed on Performance Improvement Plans.
According to them, no clear evaluation method or performance metric was shared, leaving workers unsure of what was expected of them or how their results were measured.
They say that several internal appeals were made, but no answers were given, causing more confusion within the organisation.
There are claims that some staff who had low scores still received bonuses, while others who had performed better were placed on PIPs.
The employees believe this shows that the process was not applied equally. They also say that even some former employees and those currently suspended received financial benefits, which made current staff question the fairness of the entire process. Some workers received bonuses on the same day others were issued with PIP notices, something the employees say shows disrespect and selective treatment.
Another issue they raised is that the salary adjustments have created strange pay gaps, where some junior officers are now earning more than their supervisors without any explanation.
They also point out that management claimed that newly hired employees would not get salary increases, yet some of them still did, which they see as another sign of unequal treatment. The petition also highlights a serious allegation that women who were on maternity leave were excluded from the bonus and salary review, which the employees say goes against the law and the Constitution that protect women from discrimination at the workplace.
They also complain that the PIP forms given to some employees were not clear and only carried general terms like below average without showing the actual targets or evidence behind the decision. Some employees were even forced to sign the forms under threat of disciplinary action, even though their appeals had not been resolved.
They say that this has created fear and hostility at work, and many now feel that internal systems cannot protect them. The petition asks regulators to step in quickly, suspend the disputed PIPs, and demand a clear explanation from the bank’s management.
The employees believe that only external intervention can restore fairness, trust, and respect within the institution.
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