Reminder comes after restaurant allegedly cut employees' wages for bad behaviour
Malaysian Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong has reminded employers that disciplinary issues shouldn't be a reason to deduct wages, following a viral post about a restaurant that reportedly carried out such practice.
"I have emphasised that employers cannot arbitrarily deduct an employee's salary according to Section 24 of the Employment Act except for authorised deductions such as EPF (Employees Provident Fund), Perkeso (Social Security Organisation), and income tax," Sim said as quoted by Bernama.
His remarks came after a post went viral on social media that accused a restaurant chain of deducting employees' salaries for behavioural violations, and of imposing fines on those who take a sick leave.
Sim underscored that internal inquiry processes must be carried out before imposing disciplinary actions, including salary deductions, on employees.
Those who have been impacted by the restaurant's practices should raise it to the Labour Department (JKT) or other relevant agencies to file an official report, according to the minister.
"JTK will take follow-up action after reports are lodged. However, we will also conduct spot checks to see for ourselves," Sim said as quoted by Bernama.
Restaurant's alleged payroll practices
Among the alleged practices carried out by the restaurant include imposing a RM100 fine for employees taking a sick leave, with a bigger RM500 imposed for those who failed to inform the management two hours prior.
The company is also reportedly imposing a RM500 fine for the following practices:
The restaurant is also accused of fining employees RM200 for using a mobile phone at work, and in cases where they break a spoon (RM100) or a bowl (RM200).
A photo outlining these penalties were uploaded were shared on social media, earning the ire of users online, The Star reported.
Restaurant cites basic pay, incentives
The restaurant later addressed their circulating salary practices in a statement on Facebook.
"Our salary system is designed to reward hard work and dedication, and we compensate our staff with salaries above market practices," the restaurant chain said. "This system consists of a combination of basic pay and pre-granted incentives. The discussions have focused on deductions within these incentives."
The organisation said its intention was to create a "fair and equitable environment" where employees are "appropriately rewarded" for their efforts.
"Nevertheless, we want to reassure you that we have already taken action to address these concerns," it said.
The company did not detail the measures it carried out on its salary practices, but it assured that they are taking the concerns "seriously."
