What Colgate Palmolive v Yap Means For You
The case explaining the two parts of every unfair dismissal complaint.
What The Case Decided
Colgate Palmolive (M) Sdn Bhd v Yap Kok Foong, a High Court case from 2001 reported at [2001] 3 CLJ 298, clarifies the structure of a Section 20 complaint.
The court broke the complaint down into two separate elements.
It held that a worker must first show a dismissal occurred, and second show that dismissal was without just cause or excuse, noting any act that has the effect of ending the contract can count as a dismissal 1.
What The Principle Means Plainly
These are two different questions, and they are answered in order.
The first asks whether your employment was actually ended, in whatever form that took.
The second, which only matters once the first is answered yes, asks whether that ending was fair.
What It Means For A Worker
If your employer argues you resigned voluntarily, were never really terminated, or simply reached the end of a contract, expect this first question to be argued hard.
Written communications around the ending of your job become important evidence here, since they show how the ending actually happened.
Once a dismissal is established, the focus moves to whether your employer had just cause or excuse for it.
Where This Fits In A Claim
This case sits at the entry point of an unfair dismissal claim and is often argued alongside constructive dismissal cases.
Your own outcome will always turn on the specific facts of your case, and no result here is promised.
The sixty day window to act under Section 20 still applies, so checking the deadline calculator early is worthwhile.
If your employer disputes that you were dismissed at all, it helps to set out exactly what happened with someone who can assess whether it meets this first test.
Common questions
What did Colgate Palmolive v Yap Kok Foong establish?
The case explained that a Section 20 complaint has two elements. First, that the worker was dismissed. Second, that the dismissal was without just cause or excuse. Any act ending the employment contract can count as a dismissal.
Why does it matter whether a dismissal happened at all?
Before the fairness question is even reached, the Industrial Court needs to be satisfied a dismissal occurred. In situations like forced resignation or a contract not being renewed, this first question is often contested.
Does this case apply to forced resignation cases?
Yes, it is frequently cited alongside constructive dismissal authorities because the same first question arises, whether what happened counts as a dismissal in law.
Sources
- A Section 20 complaint has two elements: that the worker was dismissed, and that the dismissal was without just cause or excuse, and any act that has the effect of ending the employment contract can count as a dismissal. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
Keep reading
If your employer disputes that you were dismissed at all, it helps to set out exactly what happened with someone who can assess whether it meets this first test.