Court upholds RM402,000 payout to former HR manager

A three-member Court of Appeal bench unanimously dismissed Tasek Corporation Bhd’s appeal and ordered it to pay RM30,000 in costs. (Reuters pic) PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has upheld a finding that a cement manufacturer’s retrenchment of its former group human resource manager was not a genuine redundancy exercise.

A three-member bench comprising Justices Azizul Azmi Adnan, Ong Chee Kwan and Radzi Harun unanimously dismissed Tasek Corporation Bhd’s appeal and ordered it to pay RM30,000 in costs.

Delivering the court’s decision, Azizul said the High Court was correct in finding that Tasek had failed to prove that Cha Poh Onn’s position had genuinely become redundant.

Cha was dismissed in 2018 after Tasek claimed his position had become redundant. However, he argued that his HR functions continued to be performed by other employees after his dismissal.

Last year, the High Court ruled that Tasek had failed to prove redundancy and that the retrenchment was mala fide, effectively using it to remove Cha while his duties continued to be carried out.

The High Court allowed Cha’s judicial review application, quashed the Industrial Court’s award, and remitted the matter to the Industrial Court to assess the compensation payable to him.

Following the remittal, the Industrial Court awarded Cha RM402,172.46 in compensation.

Tasek subsequently appealed against the High Court’s decision, but the Court of Appeal’s dismissal of the appeal leaves the findings and compensation award intact.

Tasek may appeal to the Federal Court, subject to obtaining leave.

Neoh Jian Kiat and Daphne Aw represented Tasek while S Raam Kumar and Norleena Jamal appeared for Cha.