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Employer sued for dismissing the electrician who made illegal side income

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Ms Syazwani Suhaimy from ZUL RAFIQUE & partners’ Employment & Industrial Relations practice group, succeeded in defending Tenaga Nasional Berhad (the ‘Company’) in an unfair dismissal claim in the case of Krishnan A/L Subramaniam (the ‘Claimant’) v Tenaga Nasional Berhad (Award No: 387 of 2020), Industrial Court.

The Claimant was employed by the Company as a “Penolong Juruteknik Penolong Juruteknik Tingkatan Kanan A at the Company’s Meter Unit. The Claimant was charged for misconduct in relation to his action of requesting and receiving cash payment from consumers for electricity supply application without the Company’s permission.

On this issue, the Industrial Court found that the Claimant’s denial on requesting and receiving the cash payments for the installation of electricity at the squatter houses of the consumers is contradicting with the evidence adduced before the Court. One of the witnesses had stated that the Claimant had admitted to him in receiving the said sum by force from the consumer and this evidence had been consistent to the evidence given him at the Domestic Inquiry, in contrary to the Claimant’s inconsistent statement and denials.

The Industrial Court also concurred with the Company’s submission that the Claimant’s action of requesting and receiving monies from the Customer when he has no authority to do so are acts of dishonesty towards the Company amounting to gross misconduct which had broken the trust and confidence of the Company towards the Claimant.

Thus, Industrial Court ruled that the Company has proven on a balance of probabilities, that the Claimant’s termination was reasonable and justified.


For more insight into this area of law, please contact our Partners in Employment & Industrial Relations Practice Group: 
P Jayasingam 
Wong Keat Ching  
Thavaselvi Pararajasingam