As many of you will no doubt have heard by now, the federal government has officially announced that minimum wage in Malaysia will be formally increased from RM1,200 to RM1,500, as part of a new proposal that was earlier submitted by the Ministry of Human Resources. The new rate, which has been met with contention from entrepreneur and small business groups, is expected to go into effect by 1st May 2022.
M’sian woman finds herself suddenly dismissed from her job due to new minimum wage rate
Given that fact, a Malaysian woman has recently alleged that her employer had made the sudden decision to let her go after receiving a circular concerning the new minimum wage rate. In a video that was shared by TikTok user notscha_, otherwise known as Sha, she recounts how she had suddenly realised that her boss had removed her from the company group chat without any warning.
Surprised and puzzled by the move, she decided to text her boss personally regarding the matter. To her horror, her boss simply told her that she wouldn’t need to come to work the next day as she had been dismissed.
“Hi Sya… You don’t have to come into work tomorrow. We will still issue you your salary as usual on 5th April 2022.”
“Yes, because we have just received a letter from the government about the new RM1,500 minimum wage. I was forced to make this decision. I’m really sorry.” her boss explained.
Netizens have urged for her to lodge a complaint with the labour office
Her video, which has since gone viral across local social media and accrued over 3.2 million views, has prompted many netizens to advise her to lodge a report to the labour office over her sudden dismissal.
“Report to labour, confirm you’ll win. I won a case previously when I was unfairly dismissed during the MCO period.”
“If you have an offer letter, you may counter them as you were terminated without notice. They need to provide you with a notice period to find a new job.”
“If they fired you without notice, you are entitled to a compensation amounting to 3 months of your salary.”
“You can get your boss to pay compensation, as you were dismissed.”
It is worth keeping in mind that the Employment Act 1955 mentions any termination of employment without notice can only take place in the event of a “willful breach by the other party of a condition of the contract of service”. In this case, willful breaches can occur as a result of such incidents as prolonged periods of absenteeism without reason, white collar crimes such as embezzlement or corporate espionage, sexual harassment, among others. However, there is no set definition and it can differ between situations.
Additionally according to Ask Legal, Malaysian employers are required by law to provide a reason for dismissal, otherwise known as ‘termination with just cause and excuse’. This is provided under section 20(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 (“IRA 1967”), where it is stated that employees who feel that they have been dismissed without just cause and excuse may write in to the Director General of Industrial Relations for their job back.
In the case that employees are provided no reason for their dismissal, they may file a complaint to the Director General of Industrial Relation’s office within sixty days of their termination and arrange for a meeting with your employer to decide if the matter can be settled amicably.
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