Ex Hr Manager Awarded Rm177 000 For Questionable Termination

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 The Court of Appeal says employers should avoid unlawfully dismissing their employees under the guise of agreements, arrangements, schemes or any other euphemism.
The Court of Appeal, in a unanimous decision, held that it was probable the company had coerced the manager into signing a mutual separation agreement.PUTRAJAYA: A former human resource manager of a semiconductor company in Ipoh has been awarded RM177,600 in back wages after the Court of Appeal held that her employment was terminated under a questionable mutual separation agreement eight years ago
Justice Wong Kian Kheong, in delivering the unanimous decision of the court, said employers should avoid unlawfully dismissing their employees under the guise of agreements, arrangements, schemes or any other euphemism.
In allowing Fatimah Noordin’s appeal against semiconductor company Carsem Sdn Bhd, the three-member bench also awarded her RM20,000 in costs.
Justices Lee Swee Seng and Azhahhari Kamal Ramli were also on the bench to hear the appeal.
Wong, in the written judgment released last week, said the court could not order Fatimah to return to work as she has reached the mandatory retirement age of 60.
He said the court was satisfied, on a balance of probabilities, that Fatimah had not signed the mutual separation agreement voluntarily.
“She was not given a reasonable time to consider the contents of the agreement or get legal advice regarding the effect of the agreement,” he said in the 42-page judgment.
On the contrary, he said, it was probable for the company to have coerced Fatimah to sign the agreement.
Fatimah, a section manager since 2013, was given a letter from her superior on April 20, 2017, stating that her employment would cease under the mutual separation agreement, with a RM50,000 severance package.
Her monthly salary was RM7,456 at the time.
However, the company refused to pay her the money, and the matter was eventually heard at the Industrial Court for unfair dismissal.
In the meantime, the company filed a civil suit against Fatimah for allegedly making secret profits. She filed a counterclaim stating that she did not commit fraud, and that her former employer’s police report against her was false and done in bad faith.
The sessions court two years ago ruled in favour of the company and ordered Fatimah to pay about RM300,000 in damages. Fatimah’s appeal is still pending in the High Court.
Lawyers S Raam Kumar and Norleena Jamal represented Fatimah at the Court of Appeal while counsel T Thavalingam and Tan Yang Qian appeared for the company. - FMT

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