INDUSTRIAL COURT OF MALAYSIA BETWEEN TAN CHIN LIN AND SEAGATE GLOBAL BUSINESS SERVICES (MALAYSIA) SDN. BHD.

AWARD NO.: 2260/2023 BEFORE : Y.A. PUAN SURAIYA BINTI MUSTAFA KAMAL Chairman (Sitting Alone)

VENUE : Industrial Court of Malaysia Penang Branch DATE OF REFERENCE : 17.03.2021 DATES OF MENTION : 25.05.2021; 23.06.2021; 23.07.2021; 13.08.2021;

13.09.2021; 01.10.2021; 21.10.2021; 10.11.2021; 29.11.2021; 06.12.2021; 18.05.2022; 02.11.2022; 30.11.2022; 01.02.2023; 26.05.2023; 09.06.2023;

31.07.2023; 30.08.2023 DATE OF HEARING : 26.05.2022; 7.02.2023; 20.2.2023; 17.3.2023 REPRESENTATION : Miss Parvin Kaur and Miss Nor Azrah Mohd Salim (Messrs. Jessy & Associates) for the Claimant Mr. Donovan and Mr. Ho Eng Leow (Messrs.

Donovan & Ho) for the Respondent A W A R D [1] The reference from The Honourable Minister of Human Resources, Malaysia (hereinafter referred to as “the Minister”) pursuant to section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 (hereinafter referred to as “the IRA”) in this case requires this Court to hear and determine the complaint made by Tan Chin Lin (hereinafter referred to as “the Claimant”) regarding his dismissal by Seagate Global Business Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.

(hereinafter referred to as “the Company”) effective 22 January 2020.

[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 6 August 2021;

(b) the Company’s Statement In Reply dated 30 September 2021;

(c) the Claimant’s Rejoinder dated 2 November 2021;

(d) the Claimant’s witness statement (Tan Chin Lin) marked as “CLWS-1”;

(e) the Company’s Witness Statement (Zaiton binti Elias) marked as “COWS-1”;

(f) the Company’s Witness Statement (Nadiah binti Azizan) marked as “COWS-2”;

(g) the Company’s Witness Statement (Julie Paige Odom) marked as “COWS-3”;

(h) the Claimant’s Bundle of Documents marked as “CLB-1”;

(i) the Claimant’s Supplementary Bundle of Documents marked as “CLB-2”;

(j) the Company’s Bundle of Documents marked as “COB-1”; and (k) the Company’s Bundle of Documents (Vol. 2) marked as “COB-2”.

Brief Facts of the Case [3] The Company is part of Seagate Group of Companies (“hereinafter referred to as “Seagate Group”) which has subsidiaries around the world. It was incorporated in 2016 as a Shared Resource Centre (SRC) with the purpose of operating as a key hub for the Seagate Group by providing, amongst others, development and support of global IT operations systems and services and human resource support to the APAC region.

[4] The Claimant commenced his employment with Penang Seagate Industries (M) Sdn. Bhd. (hereinafter referred to as “Penang Seagate”) on

4 December 2008 as an Information Technology Director (Grade 160) in IT Asia Design Centre Department with a monthly salary of RM16,000.00. SRC was initially set up in 2009 under Penang Seagate. In 2017, Penang Seagate ceased its operations, and the Claimant was transferred from Penang Seagate to the Company with effect from 23 June 2017 without any loss of existing benefits, privilege and seniority.

[5] By way of a letter dated 8 July 2019, the Claimant applied to participate in the Company’s Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) (hereinafter referred to as “the VSS Application”). The Company thereafter accepted the VSS Application vide its letter dated 9 July 2019 wherein the Claimant was informed that his last date of employment would be on 22 January 2020 (hereinafter referred to as “the VSS Agreement”).

[6] As part of the VSS, the Claimant was paid a total sum of RM423,697.35 by the Company which consists of the following payments:

The Claimant’s Case [7] In his Statement of Case, the Claimant states that (a) the Claimant had commenced his employment with Penang Seagate with a starting salary of RM16,000.00 per month, Annual Wage Supplement (AWS), Variable Pay and Stock Options of 1,500 units and 500 Restricted Stock Units (RSU);

(b) the Claimant had been coerced, misled and lied to that his job and position was