It appears the Standard Media Group is not only struggling to get finances to pay off retiring and laid off staff but also with finding the right words to kick them out.
The redundancy letter the firm’s employees are receiving is heavily borrowed from that of its competitor, the Nation Media Group, almost word by word. It’s easy to understand why: Standard HR director, Mrs Pauline Kiraithe, is a former HR officer at NMG.
Right from the first paragraph informing staff they are redudant to the conclusion, the text reads more or less that used by NMG. For instance, “please note that your final dues will be released after you have completed the enclosed clearance certificate and returned all company property in your possession. Your pension dues will be handled separately” that appears in the third last paragraph of the Standard’s redundancy letter is a direct lift from Nation’s version, according to someone who has seen it.
Meanwhile, on a positive note, Mrs Kiraithe has changed the way Standard sacks its employees. Initially, Standard used to publish on its notice board a list of staff who been retained, instantly throwing those whose names were missing on the list into unemployment. For high-cadre jobs, a letter would be delivered to the holder’s office in his absence so he or she gets it when he reports to the office. No one cared about the psychological impact of losing a job.
Now, the firm associated with the Moi family has adopted the low-profile sacking model as that of its peer, the Nation Media Group which, while less exposing, nonetheless achieves the same result: loss of employment.
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Below is a copy of the Standard redundancy letter:
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