Worker Receives RM43,000 After Employer Failed to Pay His Salary
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The Industrial Court awarded a probationer RM43,200 in back wages for constructive dismissal as the employer, a transport services company, did not pay his salary.
The chairman of the Industrial Court, K Rajeswari, stated that even though I Gauthaman Thevar had requested reinstatement, she did not feel it was the proper remedy as the company's managing director had assaulted him.
In her 15-page award, she said that the probationer's safety might be compromised if he is reinstated and ordered monetary compensation instead.
The chairman said the court could only award 12 months of back wages because it is the maximum compensation that may be ordered according to the Second Schedule of the Industrial Relations Act.
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The employer failed to pay the claimant two months' worth of salary.
Gauthaman had represented himself while the employer was unrepresented, which lead the court to hear the claimant's case ex-parte pursuant to its powers according to Section 29(d) of the Act. An ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without needing all parties to the dispute to be present.
The claimant, appointed as an operations executive, worked with the company with a monthly wage of RM3,000 with allowances amounting to RM600. Gauthaman left the employer on September 14, 2019.
Assaulted
According to the facts, on September 20, 2019, the claimant followed up with the managing director regarding his unpaid August wage, but his superior dared him to submit a report with the authorities.
The next day, the managing director went to the claimant's residence and pushed and physically punched him in the chest.
Gauthaman reported the trespass and assault to the police, but there was no action taken.
Rajeswari said that it was trite law that withholding workers' wages when they become due or an unjustified delay in paying the agreed remuneration to workers established a fundamental breach of the employment contract.
"So is the act of unreasonably withholding payment of properly incurred monetary claims. Such acts destroy the very foundation of the employment relationship."
The chairman said the managing director abused the claimant for asking for his overdue salary, which he had disbursed out-of-pocket for the employer. These were incurred from the purchase of safety equipment for the company's employees.
Rajeswari said the managing director's impudence was shocking, and it further shows that the employer had little respect for its employees and their rights, as enshrined in Malaysia's employment and labour laws.
Source: FMT
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