Forced to Resign From a Cheras Job
Pushed out of a Cheras job and unsure if that counts as dismissal?
Cheras is one of the largest residential and commercial belts straddling Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Its economy runs on smaller employers rather than head offices.
Retail counters, food and beverage outlets and wholesale traders around Leisure Mall and Cheras Sentral hire a lot of people on informal terms. Disputes often start there, since verbal instructions leave little paper trail.
Who does this page speak to?
If you worked retail, wholesale, food and beverage or logistics in Cheras and were let go, demoted or squeezed until you quit, this route applies to you. Employment Act coverage no longer depends on how much you earned.2
A sudden dismissal and a resignation forced by unbearable treatment are handled differently, though both feel like being pushed out.
If your hours or pay were cut deliberately, not for a real business reason, that pattern points toward forced resignation.
Where is a Cheras case heard?
Cheras itself sits inside the Kuala Lumpur federal territory boundary, even though parts of the wider area spill into Selangor. A claim from here is conciliated through the JPPM office for Kuala Lumpur, formally the Jabatan Perhubungan Perusahaan Malaysia.
If conciliation does not resolve it, the case goes to the Industrial Court, and the Industrial Relations Department (JPPM) confirms the hearing branch.
A written representation must reach the Director General of Industrial Relations within 60 days of your dismissal.1 Use the deadline calculator as soon as you know your last working day.
What is different about working here?
Many Cheras employers run on cash transactions and verbal rosters. A WhatsApp message, a screenshot of a shift schedule or a group chat can matter as much as a formal letter later.
What should you hold onto before you act?
Save every message about your hours, duties or pay, along with payslips and your appointment letter if one exists. If there was no written contract, a Section 20 representation can still be built from what you do have.
Documenting it properly now saves trouble later.
If you want a lawyer to act, send your dates and what happened. An independent lawyer may review the facts and replies about whether and how they can act.
If you want an employment lawyer to take your Cheras forced resignation on, send the date and what happened. An independent employment lawyer may review the facts and replies about whether and how they can act.
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
My employer in Cheras has fewer than ten staff. Does that change anything?
Size does not remove your Section 20 rights. Small retail and food and beverage employers around Leisure Mall and Cheras Sentral are covered the same way as a large company, and coverage now applies regardless of wage.
My manager kept cutting my hours until I had to leave. Is that a dismissal?
It can be. If the cuts were a deliberate way of pushing you out, not a genuine business need, that points toward forced resignation rather than a voluntary quit. Set out the timeline in writing.
Where does a Cheras case actually get heard?
Cheras sits inside Kuala Lumpur's boundary, so a claim goes through the JPPM office for Kuala Lumpur at conciliation. If it is not settled there, it goes to the Industrial Court, and the Industrial Relations Department (JPPM) confirms the hearing branch.
Sources
- A worker dismissed without just cause or excuse may make a written representation to the Director General of Industrial Relations seeking reinstatement within 60 days of the dismissal under Section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act 1967. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- The Employment Act 1955 amendments in force from 1 January 2023 extended coverage to all employees regardless of wage and prohibit terminating an employee because she is pregnant. Malay Mail
Keep reading
If you want an employment lawyer to take your Cheras forced resignation on, send the date and what happened. An independent employment lawyer may review the facts and replies about whether and how they can act.
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.