12/21/2022

Unit 9 Disciplinary Procedures and

Domestic Inquiry
KMS3084 Employment Laws

Content
• Principles of natural justice
• Procedure for domestic inquiry.
• The complaint and preliminary
investigation.
• Letter of allegation and notice of inquiry.
• The requirements of domestic inquiry.
• Trends in the requirement for strictness in
the conduct of domestic inquiries
• Unfair dismissal - Sec 20. IRA 1967
• Industrial and courts decision on
disciplinary procedures and domestic
inquiry.

Recall - Disciplinary Procedures

• What has been discussed during last two
topics?
• What is the process and procedures that
we have discuss in the class?
• Let us discuss on the above and your
input is very important.

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Principle of Natural Justice

• It is a natural law.
• Dealing with people is not easy. This is
especially true when you have to make a
decision that can affect the future of your
employees.
• The decision becomes more difficult when the
person concerned is a good and productive
employee who never had any problem before.
• The natural law can assist you to exercise
fairness and justice in every action and
decision.

Principle of Natural Justice

• Your Employee's Right To Be Heard
❖ It is not only unfair but wrong to consider a
person wrong until it is shown clearly that he or
she is truly at fault AFTER hearing his or her
side of the story.
• Justice Must Be Seen To Be Done
❖ Anyone who is a party to an event is prohibited
from getting involved in any deliberation as to
whether a certain person is wrong or not.
❖ For example, a manager who has reported that
an employee in his section has done something
wrong cannot sit in any capacity to decide upon
the case.

Principle of Natural Justice

▪ Ensuring that the Natural Justice
Principles Are Followed
❖ Issues a show cause letter
❖ If the explanation is accepted, the matter ends
there.
❖ Management may consider the employee's
explanation as inadequate. It may not
demonstrate that the employee is not at fault.
❖ Give the employee an opportunity to explain in
person during a hearing. Listen to the employee's
explanation which may contradict the negative
report made against him or her.

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Principle of Natural Justice

❖ When the misconduct is too serious to allow
the employee to continue working, issue a
suspension letter for the period allowed under
the laws (or exceptional).
❖ Issue a notice to the employee to attend a
hearing on a date and time you will make
known on a later date.
❖ These are some of the things you can do to
satisfy the requirements natural justice.
❖ In the sphere of industrial relations natural
justice is one of the factors to take into
consideration in dealing with problematic
employees.

Principle of Natural Justice

▪ The Critical Time to Truly Exercise
Natural Justice
❖ Your organization need always exercised fairness
in all dealings with employees on a day to day
basis.
❖ However, when an employee is reported to have
committed a serious misconduct this is the time
to truly follow the law of natural justice.
❖ In such a case, there is a real risk of taking a
hasty action and making the wrong decision.

Source: http://www.strategic-human-
resource.com/natural-justice.html

Preparation for Domestic Inquiry

1. Charging and informing the accused
employee;
2. Appointment of a domestic inquiry (DI)
panel;
3. Appointment of a prosecuting officer;
4. Booking a room and preparing all
logistics for the inquiry;
5. Appointment of a secretary for the
inquiry; and
6. Informing the complainant, witness and
investigating officer that they are
required to attend the inquiry.

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Step 1 - Charging and informing the

accused employee
❑ Know the background of the case.
❑ Important of drawing up the charging.
❑ Who should be involves in drawing up the
charges?
❑ When to sent out the charges?
❑ Where are the accused employee?

Case: Esso Production (M) Inc. v Maimunah

Ahmad and Mahkamah Perusahaan
Malaysia.

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Step 2 - Appointment of a domestic

inquiry (DI) panel
❑ Ideally consists of 3 persons, one of whom
will be appointed as Chairman.
❑ Generally the manager responsible for
inquiry will choose a different panel for
each DI.
❑ Characteristics of the panel.
❑ Appointment letter to panel.
❑ The panel should not be briefed with the
case, before the inquiry begins.
❑ Roles and responsibilities to be stated to
all the panel members.
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Step 3 - Appointment of a prosecuting

officer
❑ Prosecuting Officer plays the key role of
conducting the company’s case against
the accused employee’s.
❑ His roles includes draw up and ask
suitable questions to prove the
misconduct of the accused employee.
❑ His demeanour in conducting the case
must remain at all times calm, polite and
organized.

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Step 4 - Booking a room and

preparing all logistics for the inquiry
❑ Adequate size of the venue.
❑ Table and chairs should be arrange
properly.
❑ All evidence must be listed, labelled and
numbered.
❑ The room should be private.
❑ Any telephones in the room should be
disconnected.

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Step 5 - Appointment of a secretary

for the inquiry
❑ A confidential and trustworthy secretary
should be appointed who is responsible to
take down a verbatim record of the
proceedings.
❑ Recorder?
❑ Handwritten notes vs. type notes vs.
signed copies.
❑ Proper filling of all records.

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Step 6 - Informing the complainant,

witness and investigating officer that
they are required to attend the
inquiry.

❑ Timeframe of the notice.

❑ How to sent out?
❑ Absence of the accused employee?

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Holding a Domestic Inquiry

❑ Stage 1 – Panel of inquiry introduce
themselves and identify those present.
Short briefing given to the individuals
concerned by the panel on the procedures
and rules to be applied during the
inquiry.

❑ Stage 2 – Panel of inquiry read out the

charge(s) to the accused employee and
ask him or her whether he pleads guilty
or not to the charge(s).

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Holding a Domestic Inquiry

❑ Stage 3 – Prosecuting officer calls his
first witness. Information is elicited
through a question and answer format.
When prosecuting officer has no more
questions to ask the witness, the accused
employee is permitted to cross-examine
him/ her, also through asking questions.

❑ Stage 4 – Prosecuting officer calls his

next witness, if any. Same process as for
the first witness. The prosecuting officer
continues to call in his witness, one at a
time, until he has no more witnesses or
evidence to offer.
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Holding a Domestic Inquiry

❑ Stage 5 – The accused employee calls his
first witness, if any. As above,
information is given in question and
answer format. Prosecuting officer is
permitted to cross-examined any
witnesses brought by the accused
employee. The accused continues to call
further witnesses, one at a time until he
has no more witnesses or evidence to
offer.

❑ Stage 6 – Both parties are invited by the

Panel of Inquiry to sum up their evidence.
After these submissions, the domestic
inquiry come to the end.
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Holding a Domestic Inquiry

❑ Stage 7 – Panel of Inquiry discusses
their findings and prepare a report to be
submitted to the employer. They will
decide whether they find the accused
employee guilty or not and the
justification for their findings.

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Industrial court and superior courts

award on domestic inquiry and
principles of natural justice

❑ En. Rozali Bin Abu Bakar v CIMB Bank

Berhad.

❑ En. Adar Bin Yar v Proton Edar Sdn Bhd

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