Shamsuddin is also concerned that the sexual harassment clause is going to put companies in a Catch 22 situation.
He says in cases where companies have taken the hard stand on short prom dresses harassment and sacked the perpetrator, the sacked employee has gone to the Industrial Court seeking to be re-instated.
And when the case comes up in the Industrial Court four or five years later, the onus will be on the company to prove its case.
By this time, the complainant might have already left the company or she might have got married, started a family and wants to put the past behind, and is unwilling to testify.
,,Sexual harassment is not easy to prove. A company may take the complaint very seriously and act on it, but in the Industrial Court it is left at the mercy of the so-called harasser to prove the case.
,,Even if you had something solid at your own inquiry, this may no longer Plus Size Dresses so when you go to court.
,,We may have all the papers and documentation for the domestic inquiry but the problem is documentation does not speak and the DI notes do not answer back.
,,It is just a record of what transpired. The Industrial Court proceeding is a hearing all over again and is not based on your earlier findings or DI. You have to prove your case.
,,And the court can say `since you are not bringing witnesses concerned, we don't accept the documents' and, of course, they'll then listen more to the dismissed employee.
,,If he wins, we will have to pay all his back wages - compensation in lieu of reinstatement - and it can be very costly.
,,And if we win, it will be a hollow win because we have to pay Black Prom Dresses lawyer's fees. And what about the cost to management, having to go to court and prepare the case?
,,So we are caught. If we take action, we are liable to the dismissed employee; if we don't, we are open to penalty from the Labour Depart­ment."
But Awam's Yeoh sees no problem there.
She says a witness' testimony in a domestic inquiry is not just verbal and there is proper documentation with each statement signed off by the persons involved. Minutes are also taken and signed at the end of each day.
,,There is sufficient documentation. Companies have used the minutes of their Blue Prom Dresses inquiry to present to the Industrial Court as evidence. And the court has ruled based on that for other cases of misconduct," she points out.
,,So why should it be different with sexual harassment?"