PETALING JAYA: Failure to declare a criminal conviction when accepting a job is a serious matter, as it undermines the trust and confidence essential to the employment relationship, the industrial court has ruled.
Rusita Md Lazim, chairman of the industrial court in Penang, said an employer may ultimately dismiss an employee without notice, but it should generally follow a fair disciplinary process.
Rusita said a criminal conviction did not automatically entitle an employer to dismiss an employee, but when an employee deliberately misrepresented or concealed a material criminal conviction during recruitment, such dishonesty may constitute serious misconduct and provide just cause or excuse for dismissal.
