Accused Of Abandoning Your Job
Your employer claims you abandoned your job but you never actually meant to quit.
You missed work for reasons you can explain, illness, an emergency, a miscommunication about approved leave, and now your employer says you abandoned your job entirely.
Job abandonment is a serious allegation that assumes you intended to quit without saying so. Malaysian misconduct dismissal cases involving absenteeism often turn on whether that intention genuinely existed, a question central to any unfair dismissal claim.
Does missing work automatically count as abandonment?
No. Abandonment requires evidence that you intended to end the employment relationship, not simply that you were absent, even for several days.
An absence caused by illness, an emergency, or a genuine misunderstanding about approved leave is very different from someone who disappears with no contact at all.
What if I tried to contact my employer during the absence?
Gather any message, call log, or email you sent trying to explain your absence or request leave, even if nobody replied.
A documented attempt to communicate undermines any claim that you intended to walk away from the job without a word.
Who has to prove abandonment actually happened?
Your employer carries the burden of proving abandonment or another just cause for dismissal, not you having to prove you never intended to quit1.
A single missed shift, or a short absence with a reasonable explanation, rarely meets the standard employers need to justify treating someone as having abandoned their job.
How long do you have to challenge the dismissal?
You have sixty days from the date you were treated as dismissed to file a Section 20 representation with the Director General of Industrial Relations2.
If successful, remedies can include reinstatement or back wages capped at twenty four months for a confirmed employee and twelve months for a probationer3.
What should you do this week?
Write a clear timeline of the absence, including the reason, any attempt to contact your employer, and how you found out you had been dismissed.
Gather medical certificates or any other documents explaining the absence. For a related situation involving an accusation with no proper hearing, read about being dismissed without a domestic inquiry, and use the deadline calculator to check your window.
Sharing your absence timeline and any messages you sent helps a lawyer see whether abandonment was ever really true.
Common questions
How many days of absence does it take to count as abandonment?
There is no single fixed number of days in law, so the full context matters more than a simple count. A short absence with a reasonable explanation is very different from weeks of total silence with no contact.
What if my employer never tried to contact me either?
An employer who also made no attempt to reach you before declaring abandonment weakens their own position. Note whether you received any call, message, or letter checking on your absence before the dismissal decision.
Does it matter if I later found out my leave request was never approved?
Yes, a genuine belief that leave had been approved, even if mistaken, is relevant to whether you intended to abandon your job. Bring any message or conversation about your leave request to a lawyer.
Can I still get my old job back if I win this claim?
Reinstatement is a possible remedy if a claim succeeds, decided by the Industrial Court based on the facts of your case. It is one option among the remedies available, not something promised in advance.
Sources
- In an unfair dismissal case the burden of proof rests on the employer to show just cause or excuse for what happened. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- An employee who believes they were dismissed without just cause may file a Section 20 representation within sixty days of the dismissal. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- Back wages awarded by the Industrial Court are capped at twenty four months for a confirmed employee and twelve months for a probationer. DNH
Keep reading
Sharing your absence timeline and any messages you sent helps a lawyer see whether abandonment was ever really true.