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2022 MarsdenLR 1481
INDUSTRIAL COURT PENANG
MUNIANDY AYASAMY – Appellant
Versus
INTEL TECHNOLOGY SDN BHD – Respondent
Award No: 1639 Of 2022 [Case No: 9/4-2221/19]
An employee's misconduct, even if intended to benefit the employer, can justify termination when it undermines the trust and integrity essential to the employment relationship.
Headnote:(A) Industrial Relations Act 1967 – Section 20(3) – Termination of employment – The claimant was dismissed for alleged misconduct related to backdating project completion dates. The company established misconduct following a Domestic Inquiry, which led to the dismissal being upheld by an Appeal Panel. Court emphasized the employer's burden of proof regarding just cause for dismissal. (Paras 19, 22, 56)
(B) Misconduct – Dismissal was warranted as evidence indicated serious misconduct undermining trust and integrity. Court ruled that backdating project completion dates violated company policy and constituted grounds for dismissal. (Paras 60, 61)
Facts of the case: The claimant worked as a Construction Project Manager and was dismissed for backdating the completion date of the SRR4 Project, claiming it was necessary to motivate contractors despite contrary evidence. (Paras 4, 10, 18)
Findings of Court: The dismissal was justified due to established misconduct during the Domestic Inquiry, including misleading the Management Review Committee and backdating that resulted in financial loss to the company. (Paras 56, 64)
Issues: The main issues included whether the claimant's actions constituted just cause for termination and whether the dismissal process was fair. (Paras 50, 61)
Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that even if backdating intended to benefit the company, misconduct remained, justifying dismissal due to the breach of trust and integrity expected of the claimant's position. (Paras 60, 61)
Result: The claim is dismissed, and dismissal upheld.
AWARD
[1] This is a reference from The Honourable Minister of Human Resources, Malaysia to the Industrial Court of Malaysia pursuant to s 20(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 (hereinafter referred to as "the IRA ") in respect of the termination of Muniandy a/I Ayasamy (hereinafter referred to as "the claimant") by his employer, Intel Technology Sdn Bhd (hereinafter referred to as "the company") on 14 June 2019.
[2] This Court has considered the following cause papers and documents in handing down this Award, namely:
(a) the claimant's Statement of Case dated 14 January 2020;
(b) the company's Statement In Reply dated 12 February 2020;
(c) the claimant's Rejoinder dated 10 March 2020;
(d) the claimant's witness statement (Muniandy a/l Ayasamy) marked as "CLWS-1";
(e) the claimant's supplementary questions (Muniandy a/l Ayasamy) marked as "CLWS-1 A";
(f) the company's witness statement (Norliza Mohd Nor) marked as "COWS-1";
(g) the company's witness statement (Hector Toh) marked as "COWS-2";
(h) the company's witness statement (Ling Lek Chian) marked as "COWS-3";
(i) the company's witness statement (Ling Lek Chian) marked as "COWS-3(a)";
(j) the company's witness statement (Santosh S Padmashali) marked as "COWS-4";
(k) the company's witness statement (Bijoy Kumar Dey) marked as "COWS-5";
(l) the claimant's bundle of documents marked as "CLB-1";
(m) the company's bundle of documents marked as "COB-1"; and
(n) the company's bundle of documents (Vol 2) marked as "COB- 2".
Brief Facts Of The Case
[3] The company is part of the Intel group of companies (hereinafter referred to as "Intel"). Intel is one of the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer and its manufactured processors are available in most personal computers.
[4] The claimant commenced his employment with the company on 18 December 2000 as a Facilities Technical Service Engineer. Over the years, he was given promotions and salary increments. Pursuant to an internal transfer application which was approved on 26 December 2005, the claimant's employment was then transferred to Intel Products (M) Sdn Bhd and his last held position was Construction Project Manager.
[5] Allegations against the claimant started to surface in the year 2018 during which investigations and interview sessions were carried out.
[6] Subsequently, the claimant was issued with a show cause letter dated 17 April 2019 (hereinafter referred to as "the Show Cause Letter") and his response was emailed on 29 April 2019 (hereinafter referred to as "the Claimant's Explanation"). A domestic inquiry was then held on 15 May 2019 and 21 May 2019 (hereinafter referred to as "the Domestic Inquiry").
[7] Pursuant to the findings of the Domestic Inquiry, the claimant was dismissed via a letter dated 14 June 2019 (hereinafter referred to as "the Dismissal Letter"). Thereafter, the claimant appealed against his dismissal via an email dated 17 June 2019 (hereinafter referred to as "the Claimant's Appeal"). A panel was then set up to consider the claimant's Appeal (hereinafter referred to as "the Appeal Panel") and the decision to dismiss the claimant was upheld by the Appeal Panel. The decision of the Appeal Panel was subsequently communicated to the claimant via a letter dated 11 July 2019 (hereinafter referred to as "the Appeal Panel Decision").
[8] At the time of his termination, the claimant was a Construction Project Manager (Grade 08) and his last drawn salary was RM15,371.14 with an allowance of RM936.50.
The Claimant's Case
[9] In his Statement of Case, the claimant states that he had received numerous recognitions, awards and accolades for projects that he had achieved and even rated to being outstanding. He contends that the numerous excellence awards had entitled him to be given free travel with his wife to the United States to collect the following awards:
(a) CS Excellence Award for Successful Completion of Business Transfer from Intel US to Intel Kulim;
(b) CS Excellence Award for Successful Completi
