Labour and employment in Malaysia

As well as reviewing employment policies, advising on restructuring, immigration and trades unions matters, Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill is known for representing clients in employment disputes involving termination of staff, in particular, senior employees in complex and contested circumstances. The team also advised a number of clients on labour and employment issues that arose from the pandemic. Multinational corporations, government-linked companies, and public-listed companies as well as family-owned enterprises feature in its client list. The well-regarded team head Lim Seng Heng  has successfully represented SEACEN Research and Training Centre at the Court of Appeal, The United States of America at the Federal Court and BASF (Malaysia) in a judicial review application. He is ‘very capably’ supported by recently promoted partner Amardeep Singh Toor  , who also led on a case defending an office space design firm from a trio of senior managers who had been retrenched. Shariffullah Abdul Majeed  has notable experience in defending civil claims arising from employment contracts and is regularly instructed by government-linked companies on a wide range of employment issues. Dato’ Thavalingam C. Thavarajah   departed to establish employment boutique T Thavalingam & Co  in October 2020.

Rahmat Lim & Partners’ employment practice is part of its dispute resolution team which regularly handles a balanced mix of contentious and advisory matters. Led by Jack Yow, it advises on employment and industrial relations, at both domestic and cross-border levels, and has a dedicated health and safety practice that advises on the regulatory framework relating to workplace health and safety. The practice launched a new ESG & public policy practice area in 2021, assisting organisations with navigating the increasingly complex regulatory environment in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Leveraging its association with regional powerhouse Allen & Gledhill LLP, its clients can benefit from extensive legal resources for matters such as EPF and SOCSO contributions, union recognition, disciplinary actions, terminations of service and misconduct.

Shearn Delamore & Co’s six-partner team advises multinational companies and government-linked companies on the full range of employment and industrial relations matters. Noted lawyers include department head Sivabalah Nadarajah, who is experienced in trade union disputes at all levels; Vijayan Venugopal who has conducted hearings on a range of matters up to the federal level; Raymond Low who excels in health and safety litigation and personal data protection in the employment context; Suganthi Singam who handles both contentious and non-contentious matters; and Reena Enbasegaram whose expertise includes disciplinary actions and performance issues.

Skrine has a wealth of experience in the employment and industrial relations sphere, handling investigations, disciplinary action, retrenchment, compliance, and employment disputes. The highly experienced duo Siva Kumar Kanagasabai and Selvamalar Alagaratnam jointly lead the team; according to their clients, Kanagasabai provides ‘top draw commercial practical advice‘ and Alagaratnam is singled out for her ‘holistic thinking, calmness and legal acumen which make complicated issues resolved with the best outcome‘. Kanagasabai handles trade disputes, fraud-related issues and investigations, structuring senior executive packages, and advises on separation schemes and crisis management, while Alagaratnam provides support on compliance, managing the exit of employees, protection of confidential and proprietary information, disputes and business immigration.

Zul Rafique & Partners handles a broad array of employment matters spanning trade disputes, investigations, establishment of pension funds, and retrenchments to employment aspects of corporate restructurings.  Client list features a mix of major corporations in banking, insurance, transport, telecoms, energy and private individuals. The team is led by four partners – P Jayasingam leads on litigation; Wong Keat Ching leads on disciplinary matters; Thavaselvi Pararajasingam has ‘an eye for details that made a difference to the outcome of the case’ and specialises in constructive dismissal; and Alvare Teoh advises on misconduct and investigations.

Christopher & Lee Ong draws upon its deep industry knowledge in the TMT, projects, infrastructure and energy sectors to advise clients on a broad range of advisory and contentious employment matters. Contentious matters include disputes arising from unfair dismissal, breach of contract, redundancies, and business closure, and advisory work spans negotiation with trade unions, drafting of collective agreements, investigations, retrenchment, remuneration, and employment aspects of acquisitions and restructuring transactions. Yau Yee Ming and Kelvin Kho jointly lead the team, which also includes Han Li Meng who regularly represents corporate companies at the Industrial Court.

Raja, Darryl & Loh specialises in advising clients in the consumer goods and services, manufacturing, oil and gas, infrastructure and technology sectors. In light of the pandemic, the team is increasingly advising on cost-cutting measures and disputes arising from staff rationalisation and retrenchment exercises. Ravindra Kumar Rengasamy has experience at all levels in the courts and leads the team which also includes the ‘highly competent‘ Li Vyen Tham.

Tay & Partners, according to a client, 'always looks for a balance between the law and what is commercially viable and in the best interest of its clients'. It offers a full range of employment services in both contentious and non-contentious matters to a mix of local and international companies. New clients attracted to its offering include Grohe Malaysia, Rackspace and Logitech. Leonard Yeoh leads the dispute resolution, employment and industrial relations practice groups, and recently advised on the high-profile retrenchment of 400 staff at Country Garden Pacific View Sdn Bhd and defended the company from a constructive dismissal claim from a senior member of staff.

As well as advising on all aspects of employment law,  Chooi & Company and Cheang & Ariff supports clients facing criminal and regulatory action by the employment authorities. Its expertise also extends to workplace safety, personal data protection, immigration and trade union matters. Yap Yeong Hui is the main contact and is recommended for employment disputes which include acting for both employers and employees on unfair dismissal claims and representing clients in restrictive covenant and other employment disputes.

Founding partner Marcus Van Geyzel at Peter Ling & van Geyzel excels in advising multinational companies on a broad range of advisory employment matters. Recent highlights include advising on the dismissal of high-level employees, conducting retrenchment exercises, and successfully negotiating the out-of-court settlements or defence of and against a number of unfair dismissal claims. Geyzel regularly works with a number of international law firms.

The labour and industrial disputes department at Shook Lin & Bok is led by Romesh Abraham, closely supported by 'detail focused' Mehala Marimuthoo. Abraham’s areas of specialism include employment disputes as is employment litigation specialist Marimuthoo who 'maintains very good engagement with clients, and provides explanations that are easy to understand'. The team also excels in advising on data protection, collective agreements, workplace health and safety compliance and other regulatory matters relating to employment and industrial relations.

Azmi & Associates advised corporates on restructuring and represents both employees and corporates in courts. Retrenchment strategies and unfair dismissal claims are representative of Azmi’s recent caseload. Employment head Melinda Marie D’Angelus has experience in advising trade unions and employers in contentious and non-contentious matters.

The specialities of Gan Partnership’s ‘knowledgeable, efficient, creative‘ employment and industrial relations practice group span advisory, employment litigation, training and strategic planning. It has seen an uptick in corporate retrenchment matters. The three-strong team is led by Gan Khong Aik, who is a dispute resolution partner with longstanding experience in handling cases before all levels of Malaysian courts.

Josephine, L K Chow & Co's employment and industrial relations department is jointly led by litigator Edward Saw Keat Leong and Josephine Ng Bee Leng from its Petaling Jaya office, and Yip Huen Weng from its Kuala Lumpur office. Leng focuses on advisory work and counts a number of Japanese corporates as her clients, while Leong appears regularly as the lead counsel in trials and hearings before the Industrial Court of Malaysia.

Raymond Mah heads the employment law and industrial relations department at MahWengKwai & Associates and is regularly instructed on employment disputes. The team launched its employment law consultation retainer which offers advice and consultation to businesses and employers, particularly in the employment and human resource aspects. The team represents both employers and employees. senior associate Diana Cheak is also a name to note.