Companies are Retrenching Staff Without Notifying Labour Dept

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan just revealed that there are some employers who terminate their workers without notifying the Labour Department. 

The minister cited Section 63 of the Employment Act 1955, which clearly stated that employers who carry out retrenchment, be it permanent or temporary retrenchment, voluntarily and also salary reduction, must fill an employment notification Retrenchment Form (PK Form) and send it to the Labour Office at least thirty (30) days before termination or salary reduction.

He said the employer's failure to submit the PK Form was detected when comparing the data received in the PK Forms from employers with the Employment Insurance System (EIS) forms filed by workers who have been laid off.

A total of 67,068 workers from various sectors nationwide have lost their jobs since early 2020.

According to Saravanan, the figure of employees laid off through data received from PK Forms from January to July 2020 is 44,426 local employees and the number is low when compared to the number of employees who have filled in the EIS forms which was a total of 67,068 people.

In a statement, he said that the difference of 22,642 employees is a very significant figure and it should not be underestimated. Saravanan said the Human Resources Ministry would take legal action against companies who are found to have deliberately not filled and submitted the PK Form after retrenchment or salary reductions.

“The government through the Human Resources Ministry views this matter very seriously and will not compromise with any employer who fails to comply with the regulations under the Employment Act,” he said.

The minister said the PK Form was critical data in detecting workers in need of assistance in terms of job search and matching, especially in the government's efforts to fight the pandemic as well as ensuring this will drive Malaysia's economy.

More about PK Form

According to Employment Retrenchment Notification 2004, all employers are required to report to the nearest Department of Labour before taking any of the following actions:

• Retrenchment
• Voluntarily Separation Scheme (VSS)
• Temporary Lay-off
• Salary Reduction

The employer must submit the Form PK to the nearest Department of Labour at least 30 days before the above actions had been taken.

Any employer who fails to comply with this matter is committing an offence according to Section 63 of the Employment Act 1955 and shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding RM10,000 for each offence.

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Source: Bernama

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