Dismissed While You Are Pregnant

You shared the news that you were expecting, and not long after, you were told your job was ending. The timing felt impossible to ignore.

Malaysian law treats dismissing a pregnant employee because of her pregnancy as a serious matter, not an ordinary business decision. Recent amendments made that protection explicit.

Is it legal to dismiss someone because they are pregnant?

No. The 2022 amendments to the Employment Act, in force since January 2023, prohibit terminating an employee because she is pregnant¹.

An employer who dismisses you during pregnancy still needs a genuine, unrelated reason, and the closer the timing sits to your announcement, the more that reason will be examined.

What if my employer gave a different reason?

Write down the stated reason exactly as it was given, along with the date you told your employer about the pregnancy and the date of dismissal.

A sudden performance concern, restructuring, or attendance issue raised only after your announcement deserves close comparison with how you were treated and assessed before that point.

Who has to prove the real reason for dismissal?

Your employer carries the burden of showing there was just cause or excuse unconnected to your pregnancy, not you having to prove discrimination outright².

Medical records, prior positive reviews, and any message congratulating you on the pregnancy before the dismissal can all help establish the timeline clearly.

How long do you have to act?

You have sixty days from the date of dismissal to file a Section 20 representation with the Director General of Industrial Relations³. This can support a broader unfair dismissal claim too.

This applies whether your claim focuses on pregnancy discrimination specifically or on unfair dismissal more broadly, since the two can overlap in the same case.

What should you do this week?

Gather your maternity related correspondence, medical certificates, and any message discussing your pregnancy or upcoming leave with your employer.

If the dismissal happened after you already returned from maternity leave rather than during pregnancy itself, read about no role waiting on your return from maternity leave, and use the deadline calculator to confirm your deadline.