Federal Court Upholds Compensation For Unfair Dismissal Of Former Directors

PUTRAJAYA, June 24 (Bernama) — The Federal Court here today upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal to award RM2 million in compensation to two former company directors for unfair dismissal.

A three-man bench comprising Justices Datuk Seri Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, Tan Sri Ahmad Terriruddin Mohd Salleh and Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali today dismissed Acexide Technology Sdn Bhd’s appeals with costs of RM150,000.

Delivering the court’s decision, Justice Mohd Nazlan said the appeals were devoid of merit.

He said both Woon Kim Choy and Chang Heng Keong had been dismissed without just cause or excuse. 

He added that the court found that although the respondents were company directors, they were nevertheless “workmen” within the meaning of the Industrial Relations Act 1967.

In 2024, the Court of Appeal awarded compensation in lieu of reinstatement of RM893,000 to Woon, a former technical director and RM1.15 million to Chang, a former project director, after quashing the dismissal of their claims by the Industrial Court.

It also ordered Acexide Technology to pay interest of eight per cent per annum on the sums awarded, calculated from Aug 9, 2022 until full settlement.

The Court of Appeal had held that they were “workmen” within the meaning of the Industrial Relations Act 1967, and that the Industrial Court had jurisdiction to hear their complaints of unfair dismissal.

It had held that although Woon and Chang were company directors, they were also employees of the company.

Woon and Chang, together with BH Lim, were promoters of Acexide Technology when the company was incorporated in late 1996. Both men later became shareholders as well as directors of the company. 

However, Lim, by sheer strength of his majority shareholding, convened an EGM in November 2019 to remove Woon and Chang as directors of the company.

The two men then filed a complaint under Section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 with the Director General of Industrial Relations for unlawful dismissal.

However, the Industrial Court had dismissed their claims and the High Court upheld the decision and dismissed their judicial review applications.

At the Federal Court, lawyers Steven Thiru, Khoo Wai Tuck, Janice Ann Leo, Adrienne Sena, and Anthanasia Yolanda Bartholome appeared for the company while counsels Gavin Jayapal, Merissa Ann Augustin, Sivanandini Sreegantham, Goh Yee Huey and Fang Huey Yiing represented both men.

-- BERNAMA