INDUSTRIAL COURT OF MALAYSIA BETWEEN LAI PHUI PHUI AND ID NETWORK SDN. BHD.

AWARD NO. : 2347 OF 2023 BEFORE : YA DR. SALAHUDIN BIN DATO’ HIDAYAT SHARIFF CHAIRMAN VENUE : Industrial Court Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.

DATE OF REFERENCE : 29.01.2021.

DATE OF RECEIPT OF ORDER OF REFERENCE : 09.02.2021.

DATES OF MENTION : 02.03.2021, 29.03.2021, 15.11.2021, 17.04.2023. DATES OF HEARING : 16.06.2022, 08.11.2022, 18.01.2023, 16.03.2023, 13.06.2023.

REPRESENTATION : Ms. April Tay Ms. Jane Tan Messrs Chow Kok Leong & Co.

Counsel for the Claimant. Ms. Hasiera binti Hashim Messrs Kam & Sidhu Counsel for the Company.

REFERENCE:

This is a reference dated 29 January 2021 made by the Minister of Human Resources pursuant to subsection 20(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 [Act 177] arising out of the dismissal of Lai Phui Phui (“the Claimant”) by ID Network Sdn. Bhd. (“the Company”) on 22 May 2020.

AWARD BRIEF FACTS [1] The Claimant was appointed as an Interior Designer by the Company on 22 July 1995 via a letter dated 1 July 1995. The Claimant was terminated via a letter dated 22 May 2020 with immediate effect on the grounds of not heeding the warning letters issued regarding behaviour, work and punctuality. The Claimant filed a representation to the Minister of Human Resources and the Minister duly issued the referral on 21 January 2020 claiming that she was terminated without just cause or excuse.

[2] The Company is a small business with not many workers. It specialises in interior designing. The Company could also be said to be a family type business and everyone was close to each other.

[3] Things changed when the Claimant had to begin taking care of her husband on medical grounds. Initially, the Company was very accommodative to the Claimant’s needs. However, things began to sour when both sides felt aggrieved by factors contributed by both sides. The Court will delve into these issues in assessing this Award.

[4] The Court has gone through the evidence as given through testimony in Court and the documents and submission that have been filed. Those documents and submissions are listed for ease of reference as follows:

(i) Statement of Case dated 1 March 2021;

(ii) Statement in Reply dated 26 March 2021;

(iii) Rejoinder dated 5 April 2021;

(iv) Bundle of Documents for Claimant filed on 29 October 2021 marked as exhibit CLB-1;

(v) Additional Bundle of Documents for Claimant filed on 8 June 2022 marked as exhibit CLB-2;

(vi) Bundle of Documents for the Company Volume 1 filed on 28 October 2021 marked as exhibit COB-1;

(vii) Bundle of Documents for the Company Volume 2 filed on 6 April

2022 marked as exhibit COB-2;

(viii) Bundle of Documents for the Company Volume 3 filed on 7 April

2022 marked as exhibit COB-3;

(ix) Bundle of Documents for the Company Volume 4 filed on 7 April

2022 marked as exhibit COB-4;

(x) Claimant’s Witness Statement signed on 25 May 2023 marked as exhibit CLWS-1;

(xi) Company’s Witness Statement of Mazlan Bin Mohamad signed on

17 August 2022 marked as exhibit COWS-1;

(xii) Notes of Proceeding (xiii) Claimant’s KWSP for year 2021 marked as ID-1; (xiv) Claimant’s KWSP for year 2022 marked as ID-2;

(xv) Claimant’s application on Jobstreet marked as ID-3;

(xvi) Claimant’s LHDN e-filing marked as ID-4;

(xvii) Submission (for the Company) dated 16 August 2023;

(xviii) Bundle of Authorities for the Company filed on 22 August 2023;

(xix) Claimant’s Written Submission dated 18 August 2023;

(xx) Claimant’s Bundle of Authorities filed 9 August 2023;

(xxi) Submissions in Reply (for the Company) dated 30 August 2023;

(xxii) Company’s Bundle of Authorities filed on 22 August 2023;

(xxiii) Claimant’s Written Submission in Reply dated 30 August 2023; and (xxiv) Claimant’s Bundle of Authorities 2 filed 25 August 2023.

THE DECISION The Chair and the Role of the Court [5] Before proceeding with the full award, it should be expressly stated that the original Chairperson of the Court has been transferred and this award is being given by the new Chairman. The new Chair took o