What Wrongful Dismissal Means
You heard this phrase used and want to know if it is the same claim you have.
Wrongful dismissal and unfair dismissal sound alike, but they come from different parts of the law. Knowing which one fits your case changes where you file.
What It Means
Wrongful dismissal is a common law contract claim. It asks whether your employer ended your contract the way the contract itself required, most often whether you were given the notice or notice pay you were owed.
It does not ask whether the reason for ending your job was fair. A dismissal can follow every notice rule in your contract and still be wrongful in another sense, or follow no rule at all.
Why It Matters To You
Most workers in Malaysia who lose their job over a disputed reason use the unfair dismissal route instead, because it examines both the reason and the process together, and it is heard through a government department rather than a private lawsuit.
Wrongful dismissal claims are less common here and usually sit alongside, not instead of, an unfair dismissal filing, when notice pay itself is the specific dispute.
How Is This Different From Unfair Dismissal
Ask yourself what you are actually disputing. If it is the reason you were let go, or whether you had a chance to respond, unfair dismissal is almost certainly the stronger and more direct route.
If it is only that you were not paid out your notice period correctly, that narrower dispute is closer to wrongful dismissal, and a lawyer can confirm which forum suits it.
Either way, do not let the terminology slow you down, since an unfair dismissal claim carries a strict 60-day deadline you can check on the deadline calculator.
Telling us what your contract said about notice, and what actually happened when you were let go, helps us see which claim fits your case.
Common questions
Can I bring both a wrongful dismissal and an unfair dismissal claim?
In practice, most workers who were dismissed use the unfair dismissal route through Section 20, since it covers the reason as well as the process and does not require a separate civil suit. A lawyer can confirm which fits your facts.
Does wrongful dismissal cover being sacked for a bad reason?
Not directly. It focuses on whether your employer followed your contract, such as giving proper notice. Whether the reason itself was fair sits under unfair dismissal, which is the stronger route for most workers.
Keep reading
Telling us what your contract said about notice, and what actually happened when you were let go, helps us see which claim fits your case.