Case Update: Factors considered when determining whether a resignation is forced or voluntary

Case Updates (FB)

In this Case Update series, I share summaries of recent Malaysian court decisions to explore the current approach taken by the courts when deciding on employment-related issues. You can find all the posts in the series by clicking here, including case updates on other legal areas by TheMalaysianLawyer co-founder Lee Shih.

It is common for employers to opt to negotiate a mutual separation or voluntary resignation when handling a potential dismissal. This could arise where there is a misconduct, unsatisfactory performance, or possible redundancy. Many employers take the view that is better for both parties to sit down and agree on the separation instead of the employer unilaterally exercising its rights under the law and risking a dissatisfied employee bringing an unfair dismissal claim.

However, what happens where an employee resigns following discussions with the employer, and later claims that this resignation was forced, or obtained under duress or pressure from the employer, and therefore that he was in fact unfairly dismissed?

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DLA Piper’s updated Guide to Going Global series — Malaysia content

DLA guide 2017 landscape.png

I’m delighted to share that the DLA Piper Guide to Going Global series has recently been updated.

This series includes the Employment practice area, and I provided the Malaysia content for this section.

The Employment guide has information on 56 jurisdictions. DLA Piper is one of the largest law firms in the world, but does not have a Malaysia office, and I am the sole Malaysian contributor in the series.

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Important changes to Malaysian law for employers and employees

Important changes to Malaysian law for employers and employees

June and July 2016 will see two changes to Malaysian law which will have an impact on many employers and employees.

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Handing employee dismissals properly under Malaysian law

04 - dismissals

In this series, we have addressed the general employment law backdrop in Malaysia, legal issues when hiring employees, and how to ensure good employee management. This post will discuss the end of the employment life cycle — the termination of the employment contract, or dismissal.

Whether an employer is sacking someone on the spot, or terminating an employee’s employment contract by serving the contractually-agreed notice period, the employer must be able to show that the dismissal or termination was with just cause or excuse.

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