The court's jurisdiction is determined by the employer's identity; here, IPRL was the real employer under Dubai law, precluding local jurisdiction for wrongful dismissal claims.

[1] The Ministerial reference in this case required the Court to hear and determine the Claimant's complaint of dismissal by the Companies on 8 October 2013 and was received by the Industrial Court on 9 July 2014.

[2] Earlier the reference by the Minister was only against Baker Hughes (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Then on 9 April 2015 there was a hearing of an application made by Counsel for the Claimant to join BJ Services (M) Sdn Bhd as a party to this action. Counsel for the Companies did not object to the application but the Companies did not admit to the averments made in the Affidavit in Support of the application as well as to the documents exhibited therein. The Court allowed the Claimant's application vide Interim Award No 431 of 2015.

[3] Accordingly, the parties filed the Amended the Statement of Case ("ASOC") and Amended Statement In Reply ("ASIR"), respectively. The trial finally commenced on 21 November 2016.

Facts Of The Case

[4] The Claimant commenced employment with BJ Services (UK) Ltd, a subsidiary of BJ Services Incorporated, in 1995. The Claimant served in various positions and was promoted a few times within a span of 15 years with that company. In April 2010, he claimed that Baker Hughes Incorporated ("BHI") purchased BJ Services Co and BHI became the ultimate holding company for BJ Services subsidiaries worldwide.

[5] By letter dated 28 June 2011, the Claimant was informed of his assignment as Coil Tubing ("CT") Unit Engineering Manager with BJ Services (M) Sdn Bhd to be based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Claimant contended that Baker Hughes (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and BJ Services (M) Sdn Bhd are part and parcel of one and the same organisation, with functional unity or integration with BHI. He claimed that BHI conducted its Malaysia operations via the Companies. On 1 October 2011, the Claimant entered Malaysia and was given a Visit Pass by the Immigration Department of Malaysia. He reported for duty at BJ Services (M) Sdn Bhd and he was granted an Employment Pass on 19 October 2011 where he was permitted to remain in the country for a period of 2 years ending 18 October 2013 to work with BJ Services (M) Sdn Bhd He reported to one Tan Hwa Chiew where he covered all aspects of Technical CT Engineering and mentored young inexperienced Malaysian engineers.

[6] It is a requirement by Baker Hughes policy for international assignments that its employees sign an employment letter with one of three International Professional Resources (IPR) entitities which the Claimant alleged were all subsidiaries of BHI. The Claimant entered into an employment contract (hereinafter referred to as the "international contract" or "IPRL Contract") with the International Professional Resources Limited ("IPRL") on 14 December 2011 whereby the international contract became effective from 1 January 2012. IPRL is a company incorporated in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is not registered or incorporated in Malaysia under the Companies Act 1965 . As a result of this, in December 2011, the Claimant's employment contract was changed from one with BJ Services' terms and conditions to a contract with BHI' terms and conditions.The function of IPRL is to execute payroll on behalf of Baker Hughes companies employing international assignees such as the Claimant. He claimed that IPRL transferred all payroll costs to the Baker Hughes companies employing international assignees and he said his payroll costs were charged to the Company.

[7] In September 2013, the Claimant was to take up a new role within BHI Coil Tubing (CT) as Technical Engineering Support in South East Asia (SEA) and Asia Pacific (AP) due to s