MD* (“The Claimant”) v. KSP Sdn Bhd* (“The Company”)
Malaysia Industrial Court Award No. 9 of 2023
The Case:
- The Claimant commenced employment as a Production Operator with the Company on 9th July 2018 and was confirmed on 1st Jan 2019.
- On 10th December 2019, the Claimant’s employment was terminated by the Company, citing breaches of the employment contract, including poor performance, arguments with co-workers, and insubordination.
- The Claimant refuted all allegations, asserting there was no show cause letter or domestic inquiry (“DI”) conducted to fairly address the accusations before his dismissal.
- The Company did not dispute the absence of a show cause letter or DI but maintained that the Claimant’s dismissal was justified due to his misconducts and unsatisfactory performance.
The Findings:
- To terminate an employee for poor performance, it is necessary for the Company communicate the performance issues, provide opportunities and assistance for improvement, and document the entire process as evidence.
- In this case, the Company failed to present any documented evidence demonstrating that these steps were taken to establish the Claimant’s unsatisfactory performance.
- Regarding the misconduct related to the arguments with co-workers, the evidence presented in court was vague, lacking proper documented disciplinary actions or witness testimonies to substantiate the alleged unacceptable behaviour.
- For the charge of insubordination, a warning letter issued to the Claimant on 29th March 2019. However, the letter did not clearly state the alleged misconduct, and there was no evidence to indicate that the Company investigated the matter or provided the Claimant an opportunity to explain and improve.
The Outcome:
- The Court determined that the Company failed to sufficiently establish, on the balance of probabilities, that the Claimant’s dismissal was with just cause or excuse.
- As a result, the Court ordered the Company to pay the Claimant 24 months of his last drawn wages.
The lesson learnt here is that if there are complaints against an employee, particularly if they are serious, they should be properly documented and brought to the attention of the employee for an explanation. Following a thorough inquiry and an unsatisfactory response from the employee, the employer may then impose appropriate disciplinary measures.
That is also why, having competent HR professionals who can follow proper processes and possess cantik paperwork skills to ensure the fair and lawful exercise of disciplinary actions is so important.
Have a good weekend, everyone. Hope you have enjoyed me narration of these case laws this week and have learnt from other people’s mistakes to avoid similar pitfalls.
#PaperworkKenaCantik #BebelEmploymentAct #AuntyHR
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* Names have been modified.
