Subati Flowers recorded a drop in absenteeism from 9% to 4%
Kenya: There is such a thing as a free lunch
Dubbed M-Kula, the innovative application has been developed by Sodexo Kenya, an offshoot of global benefits and rewards firm Sodexo, and rides on the amendment to the Finance Act 2014 that exempts from taxation food offered to employees for up to Sh48,000 every year, the equivalent of Sh4,000 a month.
Upon signing for the M-Kula service, a company is given an account with details of the employer, and the amount each employee is entitled to in meal allowance per day.
Once the order is confirmed and payment made, the electronic voucher is disbursed to the employees.
The impact of lunch provision on staff’s productivity has been documented in Kenya.
When KenPoly Manufacturers Ltd started providing lunch, productivity went up by between 7 and 12 per cent.
Three months after introducing lunch for staff, Subati Flowers recorded a drop in absenteeism from 9 per cent to 4 per cent.
The average number of days off also dropped from 2.8 days per sickness to 1.2 days of sick out.
Read more at KBC (Christine Muchira)
