Dismissed Over A Work Permit

Your permit was cancelled, delayed in renewal, or tied to a work pass your employer controlled, and your job ended the same day the papers stopped being valid.

Losing a permit does not automatically mean your dismissal was fair. Malaysian unfair dismissal law protects foreign workers the same way it protects any other worker under the Industrial Relations Act.

Do foreign workers have the same rights against unfair dismissal?

Yes. A foreign worker who believes they were dismissed without just cause can bring the same Section 20 claim as any other employee, regardless of nationality or visa status.

What differs practically is the added pressure of immigration status, which is why acting quickly and understanding your options matters even more here.

What if my employer caused the permit problem themselves?

Note whether the delay or cancellation happened because your employer failed to renew documents, missed a deadline, or made an error in the application.

Keep any correspondence about your permit status, including reminders you sent your employer or HR about upcoming renewal dates.

Who has to justify a dismissal tied to permit issues?

Your employer still carries the burden of showing there was just cause or excuse for ending your employment, not simply pointing to the permit as an automatic reason¹.

If the permit issue arose from your employer’s own delay or negligence, that context weighs against treating the dismissal as unavoidable.

How long do you have to act, even with visa concerns?

You have sixty days from the date of dismissal 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. Separate notice pay and other termination entitlements may also apply.

What should you do this week?

Gather your work permit documents, your contract, and any communication about the permit’s status leading up to the dismissal.

Ask a lawyer early, since the intersection of employment and immigration status can affect your timeline and options. Use the deadline calculator to check your sixty days while you look into this.