The COVID-19 pandemic has caused mass redundancies,
retrenchment, and dismissals of employees across all sectors of
employment locally as well as internationally with the closure and
downsizing of businesses. Now more than ever, it is important for
employees to arm themselves with knowledge of their legal rights to
ensure that they are not unfairly dismissed.
In Malaysia, the law governing the dismissal of employees (and
labour law in general) is premised upon the notion of fairness and
is a relatively well-balanced system. Employer-employee
relationships in Malaysia are governed by the Employment Act 1955
and the Industrial Relations Act 1967.
For context, 'dismissal' or 'termination' refers
to when an employer ends the employee's contract of service. In
Malaysia, an employer may not dismiss an employee for convenience
by relying on the termination clause in an employment contract. The
requirements for a lawful dismissal are valid and substantive
justifications,
