Thursday 28 September 2017

Can employers give bad references?

Authors: Donovan Cheah (Partner) and Adryenne Lim (Legal Executive) (Donovan & Ho)
Academic qualifications and work experience are just one part of the deal in the hiring process. The other part involves interpersonal skills, personality traits and work ethics, all of which are qualities that employers have no way of knowing other than through the recommendations of other people and/or based on the employer’s own assessment during interviews with prospective employees. In this regard, references bear considerable weight in the hiring decisions of employers: a bad reference may in some instances cause someone a job opportunity.

Given that the potential damage that may flow from a bad reference that was prepared out of bad faith or without due care, these questions are worth considering:

          • To what extent can an employer provide a bad reference?
          • Can an employer be held liable for damages due to a bad reference given?


Tuesday 19 September 2017

5 Most Misunderstood Terms in an Employment Contract

Author: Donovan Cheah (Partner) (Donovan & Ho)

Whether you are an employee or an employer, it’s important to have a basic understanding about the terms of an employment contract, and what they really mean. In our practice, we have come across many situations where an employment contract is signed, locked away in a filing cabinet, and completely forgotten about until a problem arises. It is only then when parties realise that they did not fully understand their contractual obligations.

This article will highlight some of the commonly misunderstood terms in an employment contract.


Wednesday 13 September 2017

Misconduct Out of Office Hours: Is There a Fine Line?

Author: Amirul Izzat Hasri (Associate in the dispute resolution practice group at Donovan & Ho)
Article was provided by: Donovan Cheah (Partner, Donovan & Ho)
Can disciplinary action be taken against an employee who does something inappropriate outside office hours and outside of the company premises?


The law entails that employers can hold an employee accountable for his conduct if they can successfully establish a sufficient nexus between the employee’s off duty conduct and its impact on the business and image of the employer.

The common law position was highlighted in the case of The Post Office v Liddiard [2001] EWCA Civ 940, whereby the employee’s involvement in football hooliganism during the World Cup had brought bad publicity towards his employer. The Court found that the employee’s dismissal was valid as his conduct had brought his employer into disrepute. An employer can therefore justify a dismissal if they can prove that the employee’s conduct had tarnished, or had a considerable prospect of damaging the employer’s business image.


Tuesday 5 September 2017

Maternity Leave & Redundancy — Know Your Rights

Author: Rachel Waters is a barrister who commenced her legal career in Employment Law

Australia has come a long way in providing a more equal playing field for women in the workplace. At one stage in the 1960’s, women who worked for the Commonwealth Government who married were forced to resign. Further, it was not until the 1970’s that anti-discrimination laws and parental leave laws began to address the fact that women suffered negative consequences in the workplace as a consequence of the bearing of children. However, Australia still has a long way to go in ensuring women are able to participate equally with men in the workplace in relation to status, responsibility and remuneration.

Parental leave laws are paramount in enabling women and same-sex parents to have children without major detriment to their short and long term careers. In addition, they serve to indirectly and partially address the ongoing gap in pay between men and women.

One month extension for SST returns and payment of tax

The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) has announced a one month extension (until 31 July 2021) for the submission of SST-02 forms an...