The 'any other duties' clause in employment contracts is often a gateway for employers to assign additional responsibilities beyond the original job description. While meant to allow flexibility, it can be abused, leading to situations where employees like Joy Wanjiru are overwhelmed and exploited.
Ms Wanjiru’s journey began optimistically in 2016 when she was hired as a Marketing Executive for a real estate firm, tasked with client acquisition and land sales. However, the resignation of the Accounts manager two weeks into her tenure marked the start of an escalating workload.
Initially stepping in as a temporary measure, she found herself permanently entangled in responsibilities that were never meant to be hers.
“I was asked to fill in for the guy as they looked for another person. They never looked for another person,” she recalls.
Her role morphed drastically, her marketing duties taking a back seat as she juggled accounts management, guest coordination, housekeeping oversight, financial record-keeping, and compliance tasks.
Reporting to a housing cooperative board under a multinational, Ms Wanjiru faced the additional challenge of navigating through time zone differences and frequent management changes. With the election of an all-male board in 2019, where she was the youngest and only female among 19 senior men, it became increasingly challenging.
Despite her overwhelming responsibilities, her efforts went unrecognised, her emails were unanswered, and her financial forecasts were ignored.
When she started a social media page for personal development, the company imposed additional duties on her, demanding she manage their social media platforms and website. She didn’t refuse the request outright; instead, she silently resolved not to take on the additional tasks.
“I was bashed. I was called lazy. I was asked what I do every day. They also withdrew my allowances because I was an employee and should not enjoy allowances.”
Amid these challenges, her personal life took a hit when her mother became seriously ill, leading to a depressive episode that required her to take a two-month leave from work. “I took leave and brought my mother to Nairobi to her relatives. I needed assistance in caring for her,” she explained.
The situation reached a breaking point during a particularly distressing meeting on a Wednesday, where Ms Wanjiru was bluntly criticised for her performance. “It was a lengthy meeting that felt more like an intimidation session,” she described.
During the confrontation, the chairman made a hurtful remark, insinuating she should be thankful for being granted leave to attend to her mother, a matter she had confided privately.
The tension escalated.
“I remember reacting subtly to his comments, and suddenly, his hand was raised in anger. He stopped short of striking me, realising the presence of the CCTV,” Ms Wanjiru recounts the alarming incident.
The hostility didn’t end there, as she was further belittled by the secretary who dismissed her efforts as worthless. Overwhelmed by the cumulative pressure and disrespect, she submitted her resignation by the end of that week.
Hosea Buliba, Lead Consultant and Managing Partner with Denidel Consortium LLP says the ‘any other duties’ clause is standard for every job description. The clause accounts for the inherent unpredictability and evolving nature of business tasks.
Recognising that not all responsibilities can be anticipated or detailed in a job description, especially those arising from project-specific needs.
“We cannot define everything an employee will do because work changes.”
Mr Buliba notes that the misuse of the clause often stems from a lack of clarity in employees’ roles and the presence of overlapping responsibilities.
He emphasises the importance of employers providing clear definitions of each role, stating, “To mitigate this, an employer needs to make sure their employee understands what the role entails.”
Despite the necessity of the clause for operational flexibility, he underscores that any additional duties should be seamlessly integrated with the employee’s current responsibilities, ensuring alignment and coherence with their primary role.
“These duties are supportive roles, mostly add-ons. Hence, they should not be more or off from what you are doing and should not derail you from doing your primary responsibilities. Also, they are temporary and should not exceed a month.”
For this reason, Mr Buliba says that there is often no need for renumeration.
Effects of misusing the clause
Catherine Amoit, the human resource consultant at Cotecna Kenya & Ark Real Estates, points out that a telltale sign of employers misapplying the ‘any other duties’ clause is inefficiency stemming from employees being burdened with tasks beyond their defined scope of work.
“They will have low morale, be very stressed and experience burnout. This is because they tend to stretch out unnecessarily when given these additional roles.”
Also, Ms Amoit says that employees often experience demoralisation when the outcomes of their efforts fall short, largely due to the lack of proper guidance and support for tasks outside their original job scope.
“This results in constructive resignation because an employee does not agree to the additional roles given, and they do not have the necessary skills needed,” she explains.
Employee's legal recourse
However, this situation could lead to legal consequences for the employer if the affected employee opts to pursue legal action, alleging that they were unfairly compelled to leave their position due to the excessive and inappropriate workload.
If an employee notices their role excessively expanding beyond the initial agreement, Ms Amoit suggests it’s crucial to return to the drawing board and critically assess the situation.
“Take advantage of the performance reviews and discuss these additional roles assigned. Show documentation proof of the tasks given to you outside the job description, then agree on what is workable,” says Ms Amoit.
