AWARD

Zalina Awang @ Mamat:

Reference

[1] This is a reference made under s 20(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 [Act 177] pertaining to the dismissal of LOW LAI YENG (hereinafter referred to as "the Claimant") by CS GROCER SDN BHD (hereinafter referred to as "the Company") on 14 December 2021.

[2] The reference by the Director General of Industrial Relations ("DGIR") in this case required this Court to hear and determine the Claimant's complaint of dismissal on 14 December 2021 by the Company.

Referred Cause Papers

[3] Parties had filed the following pleadings before this Honorable Court :

(i) Company's Bundle of Documents;

(ii) Company's Bundle of Documents (2);

(iii) Claimant's Bundle of Documents;

(iv) Claimant's Additional Bundle of Documents;

(v) Claimant's Additional Bundle of Documents (2);

(vi) Claimant's Additional Bundle of Documents (3);

(vii) Claimant's Additional Bundle of Documents (4);

(viii) Claimant's Additional Bundle of Documents (5); and

(ix) Claimant's Additional Bundle of Documents (6).

[4] The documents and witness statements used which were before this Honorable Court during the trial are as follows:

[5] The following witnesses testified:

Chronology Of Events

[6] The Claimant was the Finance and Administrative cum Human Resource Manager of the Company since December 2017. As the Finance and Administrative cum Human Resource Manager of the Company, the Claimant's job scope was as follows:

(i) to oversee the daily operations of the entire account and finance department;

(ii) to handle all head office administrative matters and update outlets on changes in Covid-19 related SOPs; and

(iii) to prepare the monthly payroll for the Company's local and foreign workers and manage and handle the human resource and administrative matters of the Company.

[7] The Company had as early as March 2021 duly notified the Claimant of the huge inventory adjustment losses faced by the Company and its restructuring decision and plan to assign the Claimant to conduct an internal audit and/or inventory valuation for all the hypermarkets and supermarket outlets and to set up a standard operating procedure (SOP) for internal audit and/or inventory valuation for the Company (as at p 14 of CLB-7).

[8] As the Claimant claimed that she was overloaded with her HR, accounting and administrative work at that material time, the Company has appointed a part-time staff, namely Candy Lee, to assist the Claimant to perform part of the payroll and internal audit control work. It is undisputed that at all material time, Candy Lee was working under the Claimant's purview and control and Candy has as early as March 2021 started to set up a few new internal audit control SOPs to assist the smooth audit process of the Company (as at pp 14, 19, 26 to 27 of CLB-7).

[9] The Company then looked for a human resource manager and hired Mr Kenny Ngau Tan Tong ["Mr Kenny Ngau"] as the Company's Human Resources Manager in July 2021. Hence as of August 2021, the Claimant wish to be less burdened by the work rightly assigned to her was met and she relinquished her role as the Human Resource Manager to Mr Kenny Ngau. She was retained as the Finance and Administrative Manager, consistent with her wishes.

[10] On or about 30 November 2021, the Company's director, Eddie Oon Hock Meng ["Eddie"], instructed a meeting to be held between the Claimant, Mr Kenny Ngau ["Kenny"], the Human Resource Manager, Mr Hah and the other accounts staff in order for Mr Kenny Ngau to brief them on the Company's restructuring decision and the closure of the Selayang office. In view of the Claimant's accounting and auditing experience and to reduce the serious inventory loss and/or inventory adjustment issue faced by the Company, the Company proposed for the Claimant to head the internal audit control team to set up the internal audit procedures to test and strengthen the Company's internal controls (see pp 1 to 4 of CLB-7).

[11] The Claimant issued her letter of resignation dated 3 December 2021 shor