EZCARE TRANSPORTERS SDN BHD v MOHAMMAD ANWAR BIN MOHAMMAD

Case Significance

Confirms that an employer cannot deduct from an employee's wages without the employee's consent or the prior approval of the Director-General of Labour, so that deductions for accident losses, fuel and toll made unilaterally are impermissible and the balance of salary remains payable.

This High Court decision at Shah Alam concerns an employer's appeal against a decision of the Director-General of Labour ordering it to pay a former employee the balance of his salary. The Director-General had, on 20 February 2024, ordered the appellant to pay RM3,485.85 as the balance of the driver's salary for October 2023, on the footing that the employer was not entitled to make deductions from wages except as permitted by the employee or with the prior approval of the Director-General of Labour. The respondent had given evidence that he was employed as a driver at a monthly salary of RM1,500 from 30 September 2023 and was dismissed on 23 October 2023, with the October salary still outstanding. The employer's operations manager gave evidence that the October salary had not been paid because the respondent had been involved in two road accidents which had caused the employer loss, and the employer sought to justify deductions for fuel and toll expenses and to reduce the sum payable accordingly. The Court examined whether the respondent fell within the categories of employee protected by the First Schedule to the governing legislation, including a person engaged in the operation of a mechanically propelled vehicle for the transport of goods, and considered the authorities on the protection of employees. It held that the employer was not entitled to make the deductions it had purported to make without the requisite consent or prior approval, and that the deductions were an impermissible means of withholding wages properly due. Finding no basis to disturb the Director-General's decision, the Court dismissed the appeal with costs. The decision reflects the statutory policy that wages, once earned, are protected against unilateral set-off: an employer who considers itself out of pocket because of an employee's conduct must pursue any such claim by proper means, and cannot simply withhold or reduce the salary due, so the asserted losses from the accidents did not entitle the employer to short-pay the driver in the manner it had.