What Does JPPM Do With Your Claim?
You filed or plan to file a dismissal claim and want to know who receives it.
Most workers have never heard of JPPM until a dismissal forces them to. This page explains what the department is and what it does with your filing.
What is JPPM?
JPPM, short for Jabatan Perhubungan Perusahaan Malaysia, is the government department responsible for industrial relations, including disputes between workers and employers over dismissal.
It is not a court. Its role sits between your written claim and a possible hearing, and it helps both sides settle before a dispute becomes formal litigation.
Where does your Section 20 representation go?
If you believe your dismissal was without just cause or excuse, you may lodge a written representation with the Director General of Industrial Relations within 60 days.1 That filing is what brings JPPM into your case.
The department is national but works through state offices. The office covering where you were employed handles your filing.
What does JPPM do once you have filed?
An officer arranges conciliation, a meeting meant to help you and your employer reach a settlement. Solicitors cannot represent either side inside that meeting itself.2
This stage does not decide who is right. It exists to find common ground quickly, before a dispute needs a formal hearing.
What happens if conciliation does not work?
If no settlement is reached, the Director General refers your case directly to the Industrial Court, and JPPM confirms which branch hears it. Since a 2020 amendment, there is no ministerial screening step to wait for.3
From there, your dispute becomes a formal claim heard by the Court, not JPPM.
What should you do now?
If you have not filed yet, check your filing window with the deadline calculator before it closes. If you have filed, find out which state office is handling your case.
If you want a lawyer to act for you, send your filing details to an independent employment lawyer. They can review where your case stands and reply about whether and how they can act.
If you have filed or are about to file a dismissal claim, send the state and the stage it has reached. An independent employment lawyer can review it and act on it if you have grounds.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.
Common questions
What does JPPM stand for, and what does it actually do?
JPPM is Jabatan Perhubungan Perusahaan Malaysia, the Department of Industrial Relations. It receives dismissal representations, arranges conciliation between worker and employer, and refers unresolved cases onward to the Industrial Court.
Is JPPM a court, and can it decide my case?
No. JPPM does not rule on your dismissal itself. Its officers try to help both sides settle at conciliation, and only the Industrial Court can make a binding award if the matter is not resolved there.
Do I go to a specific JPPM office, or is it one national body?
JPPM operates through state offices across Malaysia, so your representation is handled by the office covering where you worked, even though the department itself is national.
What happens after JPPM if my case is not settled?
The Director General refers the case directly to the Industrial Court, with no separate ministerial approval step, and JPPM confirms which branch hears it. From there, the dispute is heard and decided as a formal claim.
Sources
- An employee who considers they were dismissed without just cause or excuse may make a written representation to the Director General of Industrial Relations, asking to be reinstated, within 60 days of the dismissal. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates, Unfair Dismissal
- At conciliation before the Industrial Relations Department, solicitors are not permitted to represent either party inside the meeting itself. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates, Unfair Dismissal
- Since the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2020 came into force on 1 January 2021, the Director General refers a case that does not settle at conciliation directly to the Industrial Court. MECA, Industrial Relations Act 1967 Guide
Keep reading
If you have filed or are about to file a dismissal claim, send the state and the stage it has reached. An independent employment lawyer can review it and act on it if you have grounds.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.