Noor Ruwena Mohd Nurdin:

[1] The Ministerial reference in this case required the court to hear and determine the claimant's complaint of dismissal by the First Company and Second Company on 8 February 2012 and was received by the Industrial court on 9 January 2013.

[2] Originally the reference by the Minister against "Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa" as the First Company which went by its brand name and the Second Company. Upon the claimant's application, vide Award No 228 of 2017 [[2017] MELRU 228] dated 7 February 2017, the First Company's brand name "Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa" was substituted with the First Company's registered name, that is, "Sunway Resort Hotel Sdn Bhd". Meanwhile, the respondents in this case referred to the First Company as "the Company" and the Second Company as "the Management Company". Both companies are separate entities and the First Company is not a subsidiary of the Second Company. Nevertheless, both are part of the conglomerate known as the Sunway Group. The Company is partly owned by Sunway City Berhad. For the purpose of this Award and convenience, the court will refer to the First Company as "the Company" since most of the references to the claimant'