Cyprian Is Nyakundi has often exposed corporate injustices, and the situation at NCBA Bank is no exception. Employees at the Kenyatta family-owned bank are increasingly speaking out about unfair treatment, highlighting serious concerns over pay disparity, heavy workloads, and poor staff welfare.
The bank, which is one of the largest in Kenya, appears to be prioritizing profits at the expense of its workers, creating a toxic work environment that has left many employees frustrated and overworked.
One of the biggest complaints among employees is the glaring salary disparity between staff hired before and after August 2023.
Those employed earlier started with a gross salary of KES 80,000, while new hires are brought in at just KES 50,000, which translates to about KES 39,000 after deductions.
This means two employees can sit side by side, doing the exact same work, but one earns less than the other. Despite this difference, both groups are expected to handle identical tasks without any adjustments to workloads or benefits.
This unfair practice has led to discontent among employees who feel undervalued and exploited.The workload at NCBA Bank is another major issue. Employees are tasked with processing up to 150 banking instructions every day, including cash transactions, account opening, cheque processing, email instructions, RTGS and SWIFT payments, and document filing. A typical workday starts at 7:00 a.m. and ends as late as 8:00 p.m., yet there is no provision for overtime pay.
To make matters worse, there is no lunch break, meal allowance, or transport facilitation, meaning employees are left to fend for themselves despite the long hours they put in.
The bank also enforces a strict dress code that changes throughout the week, further burdening staff financially.
When employees raised these concerns with Human Resources in March 2024, they were met with outright dismissal. Management made it clear that the entry-level salary would not be adjusted back to KES 80,000, effectively cementing a pay gap that favors older employees while newer ones struggle to make ends meet.
Attempts to push for fair treatment have reportedly led to victimization, with employees fearing retaliation if they speak out against the bank’s unfair policies.
NCBA Bank has positioned itself as a top financial institution in Kenya, but behind the scenes, its workforce is suffering under poor working conditions.
The bank’s leadership, heavily tied to the Kenyatta family, seems more interested in maximizing profits than ensuring employees are treated fairly. Unlike other financial institutions where roles are specialized and work is evenly distributed, NCBA forces its employees to multitask excessively without proper compensation.
The bank’s refusal to address these concerns raises serious questions about its commitment to ethical business practices.
NCBA’s mistreatment of employees reflects a deeper problem in Kenya’s banking sector, where big corporations prioritize executive bonuses while neglecting those who keep the system running. If the bank continues down this path, it risks losing valuable talent and damaging its reputation.
Employees deserve fair pay and humane working conditions, yet NCBA has chosen to ignore their grievances, banking on silence and fear to keep its workforce in check. However, with increasing public pressure and social media exposure, it may only be a matter of time before the bank is forced to take action.
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