Dismissed in George Town? Check Your Claim

George Town is Penang’s capital and its tourism, heritage and services centre. Small hotels, cafes and shops fill the historic core and the Komtar area.

Much of the local workforce is employed by small and family-run businesses. Those employers may handle a dismissal less formally.

Who works in George Town

Tourism and hospitality staff at the city’s hotels, guesthouses and heritage cafes are a large group, often on shifts tied to visitor traffic. Retail workers around Komtar and Gurney Plaza are another.

Professional and shared services staff in the city’s office buildings make up the rest. Unfair dismissal protection under Section 20 covers all of these roles, whatever the size of the employer.

Where is a George Town case heard?

The Industrial Court has a branch in Penang, one of its branches outside Kuala Lumpur.² Conciliation is arranged locally through the Department of Industrial Relations, and JPPM tells you which Industrial Court branch will hear a George Town case.

A written representation must reach the Director General of Industrial Relations within 60 days of your dismissal.¹ Use the deadline calculator to fix your exact date.

What if I was told verbally?

Small heritage businesses in George Town can run without an HR team, so a dismissal may arrive as a spoken instruction, not a letter. If that happened to you, write down what was said and when, as soon as you can.

What should you keep before you act?

Keep your employment contract if you have one, payslips or bank transfers showing wages, and any messages about your dismissal.

Evidence written down soon after the event is more reliable than a memory of a spoken conversation months later.

If you want a lawyer to act, request lawyer contact first; only after an identified independent lawyer has contacted you and specifically requested the material, send your dismissal date and your wage records directly to that lawyer. They can review them and reply about whether and how they can act.