KUALA LUMPUR: A former employee of a household appliances company failed in his legal bid to challenge his dismissal after being caught playing video games during office hours.
Industrial Court chairman Mohd Zulbahrin Zainuddin ruled that the company Coway (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd had acted within its rights when it terminated Syaireel Ammir Musa's employment for breaching company policies.
Syaireel, who started working as a junior technical trainer in 2015, was caught by his department manager, Nur Amirul Sawaludin, playing on the Sony PlayStation 4 console with his subordinates during working hours at the company's premises between Aug 23 and Aug 26, 2022.
The company conducted a domestic inquiry following complaints from Nur Amirul, which led to Syaireel's termination on Nov 4, 2022.
Zulbahrin in his ruling said there were no irregularities found in the entire investigation process that was conducted, leading to the company's decision to terminate the employment.
"It is clear from the claimant's (Syaireel) admission that he played 'video games' during working hours, which is prohibited by the company's regulations.
"He should have been aware that engaging in non-work related activities during working hours is not only a violation of existing regulations but is also prohibited by religious teachings.
"The claimant's decision to, on his own initiative, turn the company's premises into a place for playing 'video games' to relieve stress was also a violation of the company's regulations.
"Firstly, playing video games itself is an offence, and secondly, there was no permission from the company to do so," he said in his written judgment dated Oct 2.
He said the claimant, during the internal investigation, also admitted that playing 'video games' during working hours is an offence.
Zulbahrin said the claimant also failed to produce any evidence regarding elements of 'mala fide' and bad faith from the start of the internal investigation process.
"The company has successfully proven, on the balance of probabilities, that the termination of the claimant's employment was carried out with just cause and reason," he added.