[EMPLOYMENT] Special Alert: Forced Resignation Or Constructive Dismissal? Employee To Take A Stand
In both situations of forced resignation and constructive dismissal, the burden is on the employee to prove the same. However, there are significant differences between the elements that the employee is required to satisfy in proving that he / she was either forced to resign or constructively dismissed. In the instant case, it is clear that an employee cannot abuse the Industrial Court’s process by claiming both forced resignation and constructive dismissal for the purpose of falling back on either one, in the event the other claim fails.
The employer was successfully represented by Shariffullah Majeed and Arissa Ahrom from LHAG’s Employment & Industrial Relations Practice.
If you have any queries, please contact Senior Associate, Arissa Ahrom (aa@lh-ag.com) or her team Partner, Shariffullah Majeed (sha@lh-ag.com).
[EMPLOYMENT] Why Is A Valid Pass Pertinent To Employers & Occupiers?
Hiring of foreigners who have no valid pass is not only an offence, but it poses other concerns to the employer and occupiers of premises where such employees perform work. This alert highlights possible offences and other possible concerns for the consideration of employers and occupiers if a foreign employee has no valid pass.
If you have any queries, please contact Partner, Tan Hooi Ping (hpt@lh-ag.com).
[BANKING & INSOLVENCY] Financial Institutions Do Not Owe A Duty Of Care To Non-Customers
Yesterday, the Federal Court allowed the appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision in Koperasi Sahabat Amanah Ikhtiar Bhd v RHB Investment Bank Bhd [2022] 6 MLJ 722. The Court of Appeal’s decision had extended the duty of care owed by financial institutions to non-customers. This decision affirms the restrictive approach in imposing a duty of care where the loss suffered is a pure economic loss.
The financial institution was successfully represented by partners, Sean Yeow and Andrea Chew, who were assisted by pupil-in-chambers, Lee Chee Chien.
If you have any queries, please contact team partners, Sean Yeow Huang-Meng (yhm@lh-ag.com) or Andrea Chew Mei Yng (acm@lh-ag.com).
[EMPLOYMENT] Zero Tolerance for Drug Abuse
It is well established that reporting to work under the influence of drugs cannot be tolerated and employers are at liberty to discipline their employees for such conduct. Recently, the Industrial Court held that the summary dismissal of an employee who tested positive for prohibited drugs was clearly justified. The Bank was successfully represented by partner Shariffullah Majeed and senior associate Nurul Aisyah Hassan from LHAG’s Employment & Industrial Relations Practice.
If you have any queries, please contact the author, Nurul Aisyah Hassan (nah@lh-ag.com) or her team partner Shariffullah Majeed (sha@lh-ag.com).
[EMPLOYMENT] Special Alert: Temporary Staffing & Employer Of Record: Who Is The Actual Employer?
As the job market undergoes transformations, companies are increasingly opting for innovative workforce engagement methods. Among the emerging trends is the widespread adoption of temporary/contract staffing agencies. These agencies offer a pool of workers employed by the agency and assigned to companies on a temporary basis. Similarly, employer of record services provided by agencies are gaining traction, enabling recipient companies to outsource payroll, statutory contributions, and other obligations.
While these arrangements provide convenience and flexibility for companies, they raise the fundamental question of determining the actual employer: the agency or the recipient company? In this alert, we delve into this pertinent question.
If you have any queries, please contact associate, Wong Lien Taa (wlt@lh-ag.com), or his team partner, Amardeep Singh Toor (ast@lh-ag.com).
[IP] Special Alert: Court of Appeal Reaffirms Test for Breach of Confidence
Earlier this week, the Court of Appeal unanimously allowed the appeal and entered judgment against 3 respondents for breach of confidence. The Court of Appeal agreed that ownership of confidential information is not a relevant consideration. The equitable jurisdiction to grant relief for breach of confidence does not lie in proprietary rights. Rather, it lies in the notion of an obligation of conscience. A party who has received information in confidence shall not take unfair advantage of it. The same obligation of confidence is imposed even on a third party in possession of such information. The case was remitted back to the High Court for an account of profits and assessment of damages.
LHAG’s Intellectual Property team was retained as counsel for the appellant, with Lambert Rasa-Ratnam leading the appeal.
If you have any queries, please contact partners Lambert Rasa-Ratnam (lr@lh-ag.com) and Chng Keng Lung (ckl@lh-ag.com), associate Teo Kah Min (tkm@lh-ag.com), or the Intellectual Property Department (LHAGIP@lh-ag.com).
[EMPLOYMENT] The ‘Twin Towers’ Of Trust And Confidence: When Friendship Becomes A Conflict Of Interest
In Shakiroh Binti Abdul Kader v Petronas Chemicals Fertiliser Kedah Sdn Bhd (Award No. 1289/2023), the Industrial Court found in favour of the Company in deciding that the Claimant had knowingly and defiantly flouted the provisions of the PETRONAS Code of Business Ethics, by refusing to disclose personal relationships at the workplace.
In this alert, we summarise the key takeaways from the case, where partner Amardeep Singh Toor and associate Ashreyna Kaur Bhatia from LHAG’s Employment and Industrial Relations Practice successfully represented the Company.
If you have any queries, please contact associate, Ashreyna Kaur Bhatia (akb@lh-ag.com) or her team partner, Amardeep Singh Toor (ast@lh-ag.com).
[EMPLOYMENT] Option To Resign In Lieu Of PIP
The essence of the jurisprudence of forced resignation is firstly, that the employee was put into a position where he had no option but to resign or be terminated in circumstances where the employer had made it plain that he will be terminated if he did not resign. Secondly, the employee must have left due to the threat of termination rather than for some other reason. Recently, the High Court dismissed an employee’s judicial review application against an Industrial Court Award which found that the issue of dismissal without just cause or excuse did not arise since he had failed to prove on a balance of probabilities that he was forced to resign.
The Company was successfully represented in the High Court by Shariffullah Majeed and Arissa Ahrom from LHAG’s Employment & Industrial Relations Practice.
[TMT] Special Alert: Navigating Data Breach- Recent Insights and Analysis
With the escalating number of data breach incidents exposing significant vulnerabilities in cybersecurity practices worldwide, LHAG’s TMT team looks across the causeway to examine recently reported data breach cases. Is your company susceptible to breaching the obligations outlined in the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA)?
In this special alert, partner Vijay Kumar along with associates Harvey Yih Xiang Ng, Nicole E-Lyn Shieh, Wee Yun Zhen, and pupil James Lau Jian Hui analyse the decisions made by the Singapore Personal Data Protection Commission and set out the key takeaways from these recent cases of data breach.
[EMPLOYMENT] Special Alert: Navigating The Waters Of Worker Classification – Appellate Board Rules Individuals As Independent Contractors
