Yesterday I asked, under which circumstances from the 2 tests can an employee claims that he was constructively dismissed? The Contract Test or The Unreasonable Test?
(https://professionalbimbo.com/2022/05/31/constructive-dismissal-part-2-the-tests/)
When it comes to this question, the case that is often cited in court will be this landmark case: Wong Chee Hong v. Cathay Organisation (M) Sdn Bhd [1988] 1 MLJ 92
To summarize the case, what happened was, Wong Chee Hong, a Personal & Industrial Relations Manager, was transferred to manage a cinema although his pay and other terms & conditions of employment were unaffected. He didn’t accept the transfer, left the job & sued the company for Constructive Dismissal.
In court, Wong Chee Hong was able to show the court, this so-called transfer was in fact a demotion. A demotion that lowered his status, humiliating, frustrating and most importantly not as a punishment.
Hence, there was a breach which went to the root of the contract.
The court ruled in favor of Wong Chee Hong that he was dismissed without just cause or excuse.
Following this landmark decision, the Industrial Court took the strict approach of applying the Contract Test for a workman to succeed in a contention of constructive dismissal and rejected any attempt applying the Unreasonable Test.
So, you see, claiming Constructive Dismissal is not as simple as crying “My boss is so unreasonable!”
The burden of proof lays on the employee that the employer is guilty of a breach which goes to the root of the contract or if he has evinced such an intention no longer to be bound by it.
The Contract Test wins.
To wrap up the week, the next 2 days I will be sharing about practical situations how one can claim for constructive dismissal. Come forth follow @Sim Ling KU, #TheAspiredCXO
Bimbo
#ConstructiveDismissal #HRMatters #TheContractTest #TheUnreasonableTest
