Retrenched From A Johor Job
Your Johor job was cut and you doubt why you were chosen.
Johor has factories in Pasir Gudang, Tanjung Langsat and along the Senai corridor, plus logistics work tied to Singapore. A retrenchment in any of them follows the same national rules.
Where a Johor claim is heard
Your first step is a written Section 20 representation, sent to the Director General of Industrial Relations.
If conciliation does not settle the dispute, it moves on to the Industrial Court, which has a branch in Johor Bahru. Ask JPPM which branch will take yours.
How a retrenchment should run
A real redundancy rests on a genuine business reason and a fair way of choosing who goes. That is conventionally last in, first out within the affected category.1
Question it if your plant cut a whole shift while a similar line elsewhere kept hiring.
Section 20 covers all workmen regardless of salary, so a supervisor or technician earning above the usual wage threshold has the same standing to claim.2
Sending your facts from anywhere in Johor
A message from Pasir Gudang, Senai or the city centre works equally well. Only after an identified independent lawyer has contacted you and specifically requested the material, send your retrenchment letter, payslips and any note of who stayed on.
You must still attend conciliation in person, and JPPM tells you where.
Your next step
List what happened at your Johor job in order, with a date for each event. Keep the termination letter and your payslips.
Before drafting, read how to build an evidence file. Then check your window on the deadline calculator.
To have a lawyer act, request lawyer contact first; only after an identified independent lawyer has contacted you and specifically requested the material, send those papers and your dismissal date directly to that lawyer. The lawyer reviews the facts and replies on whether and how the claim can go forward.
If your Johor role was cut and you want to challenge the retrenchment, send the date you were let go and what the employer told you. An independent employment lawyer serving Johor may review the facts and reply on 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 Pasir Gudang plant retrenched half my shift but kept staff with less time served. Is that allowed?
Not without a reason. The usual principle is last in, first out within the same category of staff, and the employer must justify keeping a shorter-serving worker over you.
I supervise a line near Senai and earn above the usual wage cap. Am I still covered if retrenched?
Yes. The Section 20 route covers workmen regardless of salary, so a supervisor near Senai earning above the wage threshold has the same standing to claim as any other worker.
Does it matter that my factory is in Tanjung Langsat rather than Johor Bahru city?
No. The same process and deadline apply, and JPPM confirms which Industrial Court branch hears the case.
Sources
- In a retrenchment the conventional selection principle is Last In First Out within the affected category, an employer may depart from it only with justification, and the redundancy itself must be genuine. Richard Wee Chambers
- The unfair dismissal route under Section 20 covers all workmen, including employees earning above RM4,000 a month, even though some Employment Act benefit provisions are limited by wage. MECA, Industrial Relations Act 1967 Guide
Keep reading
If your Johor role was cut and you want to challenge the retrenchment, send the date you were let go and what the employer told you. An independent employment lawyer serving Johor may review the facts and reply on 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.