Appeals court upholds RM280,000 award to ex-Unisel dean for constructive dismissal

Lawyer Jamil Yaacob says Fuad Salleh will finally receive the compensation ordered by the Industrial Court.

The Court of Appeal also ordered Unisel to pay RM15,000 in costs to Fuad Salleh, its former associate professor and dean of the business faculty.

PUTRAJAYA:

 A former Universiti Selangor (Unisel) associate professor will finally receive RM280,000 in compensation for constructive dismissal after the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed his former employer’s final appeal.

Justice Amarjeet Singh said the High Court did not err in law when it rejected Unisel’s attempt to seek leave for a judicial review of the Industrial Court’s award to Fuad Salleh.

Amarjeet said the High Court correctly applied the law when it dismissed Unisel’s judicial review application to extend the time under Order 53, Rule 7 of the Rules of Court 2012.

“Therefore, Unisel’s appeal to challenge the merit of the award was filed out of time,” he said.

The three-member bench, chaired by Justice Supang Lian, also ordered Unisel to pay RM15,000 in costs to Fuad, who was also Unisel’s former dean of the business faculty.

The third member was Justice Shahnaz Sulaiman.

Fuad’s lawyer, Jamil Yaacob, said the compensation, which had been held in a client’s account while the employer exhausted its appeals, would now be released.

“He will finally enjoy the fruit of his litigation after the termination of service in 2019,” he told FMT.

On Oct 27, 2022, Industrial Court chairman Rajeswari Karupiah awarded Fuad RM280,874.03 in compensation instead of reinstatement and back wages after deducting 30% for post-dismissal earnings.

The judicial review should have been filed within 90 days of the award, but Unisel only filed an appeal on Nov 3, 2022.

Lawyer Nor Aziah Harun, who represented Unisel, told the panel the appeal should be allowed so that the High Court could hear and review the Industrial Court award. “The respondent (Fuad) will not be prejudiced,” she said.

Facts of the case showed that Fuad considered himself constructively dismissed on Jan 31, 2019, and that the human resources minister referred his case to the Industrial Court nine months later, in October 2020.

Parliament later amended the Industrial Relations Act 1967 to make it mandatory for all dismissals to be referred by the director-general of industrial relations, with Industrial Court decisions capable of being challenged by appeal.

However, there was also a saving clause that allowed previous referrals by the minister to continue via judicial review.

Unisel initially filed an appeal in the High Court, which Fuad objected to. The High Court agreed with Fuad and struck out the suit on Oct 24, 2023, a decision now affirmed by the Court of Appeal. Unisel later filed a judicial review in the High Court. - FMT