issue cancer 11
01 | APRIL, 2018 | RM5.00 PP19292 / 03 / 2018( 034850) www. revonmedia. com
PULSE OF THE NATION
ISSUE: CANCER to RM807billlion( US $ 206billion) by the year 2020. Of these, Malaysia is forecasted to generate RM180million( US455million), resulting in a market volume of RM29million( US $ 75million).
While these are merely numbers, as a nation, how far have we Datuk Dr Noor progressed and what are some wearables and embedded device that Hisham Abdullah. we have? Ministry of Health director general explains.
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APRIL, 2018 | The HEALTH
issue cancer 11
Know your right
by AMIRUL AZREEN ZULKIFLI aazreen @ revonmedia. com
IT is a situation whereby an employee is incapacitated due to a medical illness hence rendering them unable to fully perform their job and leaving the employer with no option but to terminate the employee.
Speaking to The HEALTH, Donovan & Ho’ s corporate litigation associate, Amirul Izzat Hasri explained how medical board out is handled here in Malaysia.
“ MOB is a specific act by the employer by terminating an employee due to an illness or disability which will prevent him or her in executing their job properly.
“ At that stage the law can see the contract between the employer and the employee to be frustrated hence giving the employer no choice but to terminate the employee.
“ However, there are various factors that needs to take into account before jumping to the conclusion of termination,” he said.
In Malaysia, an employer may terminate the employee services if they have proof that the illness is certain to curtail the ability of the employee to perform his job.
An employer must take into account several factors before contemplating termination:
• The nature of employee illness
• The length of the employee’ s absence during recovery period
• The nature and functions of the employee’ s job
• The likelihood of the illness / disability recurring or some other illness arising
• The length of various absences and the spaces of good health between them
• The need of the employer to employ another employee
• The impact of absences by the ill employee on other employees He added: An employer is not allowed to terminate an employee if the disease or the condition suffered is curable.
“ You need to offer the sick leave which is entitled to the employee.
Under the Employment Act 1995 employers need to take a look at the contract of the employee before making any decision.”
“ However, unlike United Kingdom or any parts of the world there is no law that is specifically dictating MBO policies including Malaysia.”
“ Each companies in Malaysia has their own terms and regulation on dealing cases involving employee with prolonged illness.”
According to National Human Resource Centre Malaysia, an employee who is certified medically unfit for continued employment will be medically boarded out.
In such cases the company will assist the employee in making a claim for invalidity pension from SOCSO.
Amirul Izzat added:“ Organization or a company will continue to pay your salary within the first six months of your leave before moving to cut it in half after the next six months.
“ If the absentee of the employee continues to the next sixth months, companies will stop paying you hence will proceed to medically board the employee out if he or she is unable to continue the work after 18 months of leave.
“ Nonetheless, employer will have to consult the doctors or medical personnel reports to determine whether there is a likelihood that the employee is able to continue his or her work.
“ Under the employment law, the failure for the employer to consult the employee and assuming the employee is unable to do his or her work will lead to unfair dismissal claim.”
Every organisation and company will need to send a representative to speak to the employee in order to identify the illness and clarifying the scenario.
“ An example can be seen in the Malaysian case of MHS Aviation Sdn Bhd v Zainol Akmar Mohd Noor [ 2001 ] 2 MELR 133 whereby the company had dismissed its employee after he was diagnosed with acute inferior and posterior myocardial infarction.”
“ Zainol Akmar is a pilot and it clearly stated in the medical report that he is unable to fly for four months. Yet the airline assumed that the illness is permanent hence he was terminated from his job.”
“ The court however held the termination as unfair as the company had not made any enquiries on the illness suffered by the employee and merely issued the termination based on the assumption that the illness was permanent in nature.” he said.
Malaysia law does not set minimum requirements for a medical board out procedure aside from the statutory sick leave and hospitalisation leave available to employees covered by the Malaysian Employment Act 1995. from previous page critical illness.”
“ Occupational illness refers to falling ill due to the nature of the occupation. Suffering from pain due to work which is hard labour.”
“ Meanwhile critical illnesses refers to a situation whereby the employee is diagnosed with cancer, heart disease which is not caused by the occupation.”
“ The company is not allowed to end your contract if you are suffering from occupational illness.”
“ Instead, the company need to help every employee to apply to Social Security Organisation( SOCSO) to gain benefits which gives you an assurance up to 60 years old.”
“ Before receiving these benefits, normally what the company does is they will continue to pay you in full for the first three to six months if you are suffering from prolonged illnesses, which might defer according to the company policy itself.”
“ If you are still unable to continue the employment then you are eligible to apply for SOCSO. Nonetheless, if your first application was rejected then you will need to make an appeal to the Appeal Board.
“ However, before appealing a doctor need to certify that you are unable to continue employment.
“ Secondly, at the same time every employee can apply for termination benefits from the employer under the Employment Termination Regulation.
“ If you are a management staff and facing occupational illness then the company will apply for their insurance whereby the insurance money must go to the employee,” explained Aresandiran.
Meanwhile for government sectors, if the employee suffers from non-occupational
Malaysian Institute of Human Resource Management( MIHRM) chief executive officer, Aresandiran.
illness such as cancer which presumably disallowing from continuity of the job, the employee can apply for medical board out.
According to Aresandiran, every company in the private sector have different policies in dealing with matters on whether you are fit or unfit for the job compared to government sectors that has a standardise procedure.
“ Employer is not allowed to dismiss the employee not because they are not fit for employment instead they are medically incapable in doing so.”
“ Hence, the company will need to come out with Voluntary Separation Scheme( VSS).”
“ Nevertheless, this is where the benevolent purpose of the company is not applied. Many company chose to handle the matter from the aspect of dismissal.”
“ When this happens the employee will need to file a complaint to the Industrial Court of Malaysia which the court will then see the matter is not being done in good faith.”
He also shared his own experienced whereby the termination was carried out according to the employee’ s position.
“ If the employee is a nonexecutive, employer needs to try to fit a benefit under the occupational illness. However if it is not occupational illness the employer needs to talk to the employee and provide them with termination benefits.”
“ Normally every staff is qualified to receive payment from the company insurance. The money will be delivered directly to the employee.”
“ The process of dealing with occupational illness is simple because it is standardised but for health illness it is different according to the company policies.”
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