Forced to Resign From a Cheras Job
Your employer in Cheras pushed you out and you are wondering if that counts as dismissal.
Cheras is one of the largest residential and commercial belts straddling Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Its economy runs on smaller employers rather than head offices.
Retail counters, food and beverage outlets and wholesale traders around Leisure Mall and Cheras Sentral hire a lot of people on informal terms. That informality is exactly where disputes tend to start, since verbal instructions leave little paper trail.
Who does this page speak to?
If you worked retail, wholesale, food and beverage or logistics in Cheras and were let go, demoted or squeezed until you quit, this route applies to you. Coverage under Section 20 no longer depends on how much you earned.2
A sudden dismissal and a resignation forced by unbearable treatment are handled differently, even though both start from the same feeling of being pushed out. If your hours or pay were cut deliberately rather than for a real business reason, that pattern points toward forced resignation.
Where is a Cheras case heard?
Cheras itself sits inside the Kuala Lumpur federal territory boundary, even though parts of the wider area spill into Selangor. A claim from here is conciliated through the JPPM office for Kuala Lumpur, formally the Jabatan Perhubungan Perusahaan Malaysia.
If conciliation does not resolve it, the case is heard at the Industrial Court headquarters in the city. A written representation has to reach the Director General of Industrial Relations within sixty days of your dismissal.1 Use the deadline calculator as soon as you know your last working day.
What is different about working here?
Many Cheras employers run on cash transactions and verbal rosters. A WhatsApp message, a shift schedule screenshot or a group chat can matter as much as a formal letter later on.
The MRT Kajang line through Taman Connaught and Taman Suntex, together with the wider bus network, makes it straightforward to reach a conciliation session without losing a shift.
What should you hold onto before you act?
Save every message about your hours, duties or pay, along with payslips and your appointment letter if one exists. If there was no written contract, a Section 20 representation can still be built from what you do have. Documenting it properly now saves difficulty later.
Write down when the pressure started and when you actually left, and a short message can help you work out whether it reads as a dismissal.
Common questions
My employer in Cheras has fewer than ten staff. Does that change anything?
Size does not remove your Section 20 rights. Small retail and food and beverage employers around Leisure Mall and Cheras Sentral are covered the same way as a large company, and coverage now applies regardless of wage.
My manager kept cutting my hours until I had to leave. Is that a dismissal?
It can be. If the cuts were a deliberate way of pushing you out rather than a genuine business need, that pattern points toward forced resignation rather than a voluntary quit, and it is worth setting out the timeline in writing.
Where does a Cheras case actually get heard?
Cheras sits inside Kuala Lumpur's boundary, so a claim goes through the JPPM office for Kuala Lumpur at conciliation, and to the Industrial Court headquarters in the city if it is not settled there.
Sources
- A worker dismissed without just cause or excuse may make a written representation to the Director General of Industrial Relations seeking reinstatement within sixty days of the dismissal under Section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act 1967. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- The Employment Act 1955 amendments in force from 1 January 2023 extended coverage to all employees regardless of wage and prohibit terminating an employee because she is pregnant. Malay Mail
Keep reading
Write down when the pressure started and when you actually left, and a short message can help you work out whether it reads as a dismissal.