Employer of record in Kenya
23 sourced figures on hiring in Kenya, drawn from 11 sources and normalized for comparison: statutory rules, employer cost and exactly what an EOR covers locally. Every figure is dated.
Hiring here: moderately complex, inexpensive to employ, and fast to hire via EOR.
Employer of record in Kenya: the statutory snapshot
The headline employer costs, pay floor and worker protections for hiring in Kenya through an employer of record, each figure sourced and dated. 36 EOR providers cover Kenya.
| Minimum wage | 18,047 | Manual / editor, 2026-05-01 |
|---|---|---|
| Employer social security | 6% | ISSA Country Profiles, 2024-01-01 |
| Notice period | 4.3 weeks | World Bank Employing Workers / B-READY, 2019-05-01 |
| Severance | 11.4 weeks | World Bank Employing Workers / B-READY, 2019-05-01 |
| Annual leave | 21 days | WageIndicator Foundation, 2026-01-01 |
| Public holidays | 12 days | National government, 2026-01-01 |
| Maternity leavePaid leave available to mothers, incl. mother-eligible parental leave | 12.9 weeks | World Bank Women, Business and the Law, 2026-02-23 |
As of 2026-08-14. Each value is the winning figure from primary and harmonized sources, resolved by a documented priority chain. Full record with provenance below.
Reading the data
What the figures say about Kenya
The statutory minimum wage stands at KES 18,047, above the average monthly wage of KES 13,933 recorded in 2019, which signals that the wage floor sits meaningfully above what many employees were actually earning. Employer social security contributions run at 6% and employee contributions at 8.75%, with a top personal income tax rate of 35%, so payroll costs extend well beyond the headline salary figure. The standard working week is 45 hours, and actual weekly hours worked average 46, leaving virtually no gap between statutory and real-world time expectations. Statutory annual leave is 21 days, supplemented by 12 public holidays, with maternity leave at 12.9 weeks and paternity leave at 2 weeks. When a role ends, employers must account for a statutory notice period of 4.3 weeks and severance of 11.4 weeks. Kenya has a labour force of 24.7 million people, an unemployment rate of 5.45%, and union density of 9.7%, meaning collective bargaining obligations affect a relatively small share of the workforce. There is no statutory 13th salary, and the retirement age is 60.
Where to start
Three ways to hire in Kenya
You are the employer. Lowest per head cost at scale, months to establish.
You direct the work, the provider's local entity is the employer on paper. Compliant in days.
See the 36 providers below ↓Not your employee. Fastest and cheapest, with misclassification exposure.
The full record
Every figure behind the snapshot
Not a guide, a record: 23 figures for Kenya from 11 sources, last refreshed 2026-08-14. Each value carries its source and the date it was pulled. Hover any provenance tag for the full chain.
Average monthly earnings in Kenya by occupation (2019)
Gross monthly earnings of employees per ISCO-08 major occupation group, in KES — the official ILOSTAT survey figures, not estimates. Use them to sanity-check an offer before an EOR quote turns it into total employer cost.
| Occupation group | Monthly (KES) | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| All occupations | 13,933 | $137 |
| Managers · ISCO 1 | 58,575 | $574 |
| Professionals · ISCO 2 | 31,414 | $308 |
| Technicians and associate professionals · ISCO 3 | 27,865 | $273 |
| Clerical support workers · ISCO 4 | 25,366 | $249 |
| Service and sales workers · ISCO 5 | 12,299 | $121 |
| Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers · ISCO 6 | 4,461 | $44 |
| Craft and related trades workers · ISCO 7 | 8,422 | $83 |
| Plant and machine operators and assemblers · ISCO 8 | 13,334 | $131 |
| Elementary occupations · ISCO 9 | 4,809 | $47 |
Source: ILOSTAT (EAR_EMTA, employees, both sexes), reference year 2019. Survey earnings differ from statutory minimums above.
// recent updates
What changed in Kenya
Figures refreshed as newer, more current sources replaced older ones
- Minimum wageMay 1, 2026
Now 18047, from 16113.75. Source: Manual / editor (was WageIndicator Foundation).
Source →
Every figure is sourced and dated. How we verify the data →
The differentiator
What an EOR handles in Kenya
An EOR removes the entity and the payroll machinery. It does not remove your obligations as the people manager.
Provider × country
Who can employ in Kenya
36 providers operate an EOR in Kenya, ranked by Select Score.
Comparing EOR options for Kenya?
Run a side-by-side on the providers that actually operate there.