Enhancement of Employee’s Pre-Dismissal Procedures in Malaysia: Lessons from the UAE

It has been established that poorly implemented procedures may negatively impact workplace performance. These procedures shall include the pre-dismissal disciplinary procedure for misconduct. If this procedure is unfairly administered, it may not only harm the discharged employee but also the surviving ones. This article compares the standard of employee’s procedural fairness right or the right to be heard in disciplinary proceedings in the private sector employment in Malaysia and the UAE. As there is no detailed statutory provision on the procedure in Malaysia, this article examines the common law practices in Malaysia and the established legal procedures in the UAE. This is to learn how the same right is treated and regulated based on the Islamic principle of justice and its practices in the latter. The recommendations in this article may be useful as guidelines for future conduct of managers in disciplinary proceedings and may be considered in reviewing the relevant laws in order to sustain a good industrial harmony.