Sacked Without Any Hearing At All
Your employer skipped the internal hearing and went straight to dismissing you.
You were dismissed for something you allegedly did, but there was no hearing, no panel, no chance to question the evidence against you.
A domestic inquiry is the internal hearing a fair employer holds before a misconduct dismissal. Skipping it entirely, with no domestic inquiry at all, is one of the clearest signs the process was unfair.
Is a domestic inquiry always legally required?
Malaysian practice strongly favours holding one before a misconduct dismissal, though the exact requirement can depend on your contract and company policy.
What matters most to the Industrial Court is whether you were given a genuine chance to respond to the allegations, whatever form that took. No process at all is difficult for an employer to defend.
Who carries the burden if no inquiry was held?
Your employer still has to prove there was just cause or excuse for the dismissal, and the absence of an inquiry makes that harder to show1.
A dismissal decided entirely behind closed doors, without your input, tends to look like a conclusion reached first and justified afterward.
What evidence should you gather now?
Write down whether you were ever told about the allegation, and if so, when and by whom, in as much detail as you can recall.
Keep your dismissal letter or message, your employment contract, and any company handbook describing what a fair disciplinary process should look like.
How long do you have to act on this?
You have sixty days from the date of dismissal to file a Section 20 representation with the Director General of Industrial Relations2.
If your claim succeeds, the 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?
Request, in writing, the reason for your dismissal and whether any inquiry or hearing took place that you were not told about.
Keep that request and any reply for your records. If the accusation itself felt vague or unfair, read about being dismissed over alleged misconduct, and use the deadline calculator to confirm your sixty days.
Describing exactly what process, if any, happened before your dismissal helps a lawyer see how strong your position is.
Common questions
Does my employer have to hold a domestic inquiry before dismissing me?
Malaysian practice generally expects one before a misconduct dismissal, though the exact rules depend on your contract and company policy. Its absence is a strong factor the Industrial Court considers when deciding whether the dismissal was fair.
What happens if I was invited to a meeting but not a formal inquiry?
An informal meeting is not automatically the same as a proper hearing with notice of the allegations and a chance to respond. Describe exactly what happened at that meeting to a lawyer so they can assess whether it was adequate.
Can I request a domestic inquiry after I have already been dismissed?
The dismissal has already taken place by that point, so the focus shifts to challenging it through a Section 20 representation instead. The missing inquiry becomes part of the evidence supporting your claim rather than something to reopen internally.
Does company size affect whether an inquiry was expected?
Smaller companies sometimes run less formal processes, but the basic expectation of a fair hearing before dismissal still applies broadly. A lawyer can help judge whether what did happen, however informal, met that basic standard.
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
Describing exactly what process, if any, happened before your dismissal helps a lawyer see how strong your position is.