In the Industrial Court case of Shanthini Parmasivam v. Oakbridge International School [2023] 2 ILR 626, the prolonged absence of an employee due to illness and failure to promptly provide medical certificates (MCs) was held to warrant dismissal. This was notwithstanding that the employee informed the employer of such sick leave via WhatsApp on the first day of such sick leave.
Brief Facts
- The Claimant was employed as a class teacher by the School on a 6-month probation period.
- On her third working day, she informed the School via WhatsApp that she needed to be admitted to the hospital due to an illness.
- The Claimant subsequently did not report for duty.
- Throughout her absence, the Claimant continued to communicate with the School, where she was requested to send the MCs via WhatsApp.
- Despite numerous reminders via WhatsApp and her assurance to the School that she would send them, she did not do so.
- The School issued a notice of abandonment of contract to warn the Claimant that if she continued to fail to report to work and submit the required MCs to support her absence, she would be deemed as having abandoned her job. There was no response by the Claimant.
- The School issued a show cause letter, where the Claimant was charged with failing to report for duty without approval, insubordination for failing to submit evidence via WhatsApp that she was granted sick leave, and falsely misrepresenting to the School that she was granted sick leave by a doctor.
- In her response to the show cause letter, the Claimant admitted to having a medical certificate for only the first day of her absence, and that she was not granted sick leave by a doctor for the subsequent days.
- The School dismissed her, leading to her claim of unfair dismissal.
Court’s Findings
The Industrial Court held that the dismissal was with just cause and excuse:
- Absenteeism
The Claimant was absent without leave for 8 consecutive working days. The Claimant admitted to not having any MCs to support her absence, apart from the first day of sick leave on which she received an MC. There was no acceptable excuse not to consult a doctor during working hours.
- Insubordination for refusal or failure to submit MC
The Claimant only submitted the MC (for the first day of sick leave) 14 days after her initial absence. The Court held that this was insubordination. A severe delay in submitting the MC without providing any reasons should not be tolerated by an employer, as it is the employee’s responsibility to submit the MC if they wish to go on sick leave.
- Misrepresentation of information
The Claimant lied to the School when she said she had MCs for her period of absence. - Company policy to submit the MC upon return to work
The company policy provided that any employee should submit their MC within a reasonable timeframe upon returning to work. However, the Court found it unreasonable for the employee to provide the MCs only after being charged for absenteeism (particularly as the employee kept silent as to when she should return to work). The Claimant could have conveniently provided the MCs through telecommunication technology.
Key Takeaways
Informing one’s employer that they are going to be absent does not excuse the need for the employee to provide a valid reason, like a medical certificate, for the absence. Merely claiming “sick leave” without backing it up with a medical certificate is insufficient.
When requesting sick leave, employees should not delay giving the employer the supporting medical certificate. Refusing or failing to hand in requested medical certificates, or falsely claiming sick leave amounts to serious misconduct.
Employees should maintain communication with their employers during their absence, providing necessary details about the reasons for their absence and expected return date. While some reasonable leniency may be accorded during illness, employees cannot ignore workplace rules entirely.
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This article was written by Adelyn Fang (Associate) from Donovan & Ho’s employment law practice.
Donovan & Ho is a law firm in Malaysia, and our employment practice group has built a reputation for providing strategic employment advice to local and global organisations. Our team of employment lawyers provide advice on employment law and industrial relations including review of employment contracts, policies and handbooks, advising on workforce reductions, and managing dismissals of employees for poor performance or misconduct. We also represent clients in unfair dismissal claims and employment-related litigation. Have a question? Please contact us.
