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2023 MarsdenLR 1249
INDUSTRIAL COURT KUALA LUMPUR
ABDUL HADI ZAINAL ARIFFIN – Appellant
Versus
AEON CO (M) BHD – Respondent
Award No: 2216 Of 2023 [Case No: 4/4-2630/21]
The court upheld the dismissal of the employee for serious misconduct, affirming that the employer demonstrated just cause under the Industrial Relations Act 1967.
Headnote:(A) Industrial Relations Act 1967 - Section 20(3) - Dismissal - Claimant alleged to have removed Company property without authorization - Claimant's misconduct established through evidence - Company conducted a Domestic Inquiry (DI) and found Claimant guilty of serious misconduct - Dismissal upheld as just cause - Burden of proof lies with the employer to demonstrate just cause for dismissal. (Paras 11, 12, 46)
(B) Dismissal Procedures - The Industrial Court must determine whether the misconduct occurred and if it constitutes just cause for dismissal - The findings of the Domestic Inquiry are not binding on the Industrial Court. (Paras 11, 20)
Facts of the case:
The Claimant, employed since 2007, was dismissed on 29 December 2020 for allegedly removing an Iron Board and a DVD Player from the Company premises without permission. The Company conducted an internal investigation and a Domestic Inquiry which found the Claimant guilty of misconduct. (Paras 5, 6, 8)
Findings of Court:
The Claimant was found guilty of serious misconduct for taking Company property without authorization and was dismissed with just cause. (Paras 46)
Issues: Whether the Claimant was dismissed without just cause or excuse and whether the evidence supported the allegations of misconduct. (Paras 4, 6)
Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that the Claimant's actions constituted serious misconduct, warranting dismissal, as he failed to obtain necessary permissions and breached Company rules. (Paras 45, 46)
Result: Claimant's claims against the Company dismissed.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. reference by the director general. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. claimant's employment and dismissal details. (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8) |
| 3. summary of claimant's and company's cases. (Para 9 , 10) |
| 4. role of the industrial court in dismissal cases. (Para 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15) |
| 5. law on domestic inquiry. (Para 16 , 17 , 18) |
| 6. procedure and findings of the domestic inquiry. (Para 19 , 20 , 21) |
| 7. evaluation of evidence regarding misconduct. (Para 22 , 23 , 24 , 25) |
| 8. witness testimonies and their relevance. (Para 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31) |
| 9. claimant's actions and their implications. (Para 32 , 33 , 34 , 35) |
| 10. claimant's justification for actions. (Para 36 , 37 , 38) |
| 11. final findings on misconduct. (Para 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44) |
| 12. conclusion on dismissal justification. (Para 46) |
The Reference
[1] This is a reference dated 4 August 2021 by the Director General of the Department of Industrial Relations, Ministry of Human Resources pursuant to s 20(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 ("The Act") arising out of the dismissal of ABDUL HADI BIN ZAINAL ARIFFIN ("Claimant") by AEON CO (M) BHD ("Company") on the 29 December 2020.
[2] Pursuant to the directions of this Court, the parties in this matter filed their respective submissions accordingly. This Court received the following written submissions of the parties namely the Claimant's written submissions dated 28 August 2023, the Company's written submissions dated 30 August 2023, Claimant's written submissions in reply dated 4 September 2023 and the Company's written submissions in reply 22 September 2023.
[3] This Court considered all the notes of proceedings in this matter, documents and the cause papers in handing down this Award namely:
(i) The Claimant's Statement of Case dated 20 December 2021;
(ii) The Company's Statement in Reply dated 24 March 2022;
(iii) The Claimant's Rejoinder dated 18 April 2022;
(iv) The Claimant's Bundle of Documents - CLB;
(v) The Company's Bundles of Documents - COB 1, COB 2, COB 3 and COB 4;
(vi) The Claimant's Witness Statement - CLW - WS (Abdul Hadi Bin Zainal Ariffin);
(vii) Company's Witness Statement - COW 1-WS (Mohd Alias Bin Ambak);
(viii) Company's Witness Statement - COW 2 - WS (Salam bin Abdullah);
(ix) Company's Witness Statement - COW 3-WS (Nurashikin Bt Mohd Yazid);
(x) Company's Witness Statement - COW 4-WS (Hasmina Bt Husein);
(xi) Company's Witness Statement - COW 5-WS (Muhammad Azhani Bin Ishak);
(xii) Company's Witness Statement - COW 6-WS (Mohammad Firdaus Bin Hussin);
Introduction
[4] The dispute before this Court relates to the claim by Abdul Hadi Bin Zainal Ariffin ("Claimant") that he was dismissed from his employment without just cause or excuse by AEON Co (M) Bhd ("the Company") on the 29 December 2020.
[5] The Company is involved in the retail business and needs no introduction. The Claimant commenced employment with the Company as an Electrician on the 21 March 2007 and was subsequently confirmed in his employment. The Claimant's last held position in the Company was Admin & GA Officer with a last drawn salary of RM3,060.00 per month.
[6] On the 12 & 13 November 2020, the Claimant was alleged to have removed and taken out two items belonging to the Company namely an Iron Board and a DVD player from the Company's premises without any written authorisation of the Company and in breach of the Company's rules. In view of the Claimant's alleged misconduct, the Company conducted an internal investigation on the 15 November 2020 wherein the Claimant was also interviewed. Thereafter the Claimant was suspended from work effective 22 November 2020 with half pay. The Company issued the Claimant a show cause letter on the 26 November 2020 with two alleged misconducts to which the Claimant promptly replied on the 1 December 2020. Dissatisfied with the Claimant's explanation, the Company conducted a Domestic Inquiry (DI) on the 17 December 2020 wherein 2 charges of misconduct were preferred against the Claimant. Having he
