Employment Act 1968 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 9 · Maternity Protection and Benefits and Childcare Leave for Parent
84. Right to benefit unaffected by notice of dismissal given without sufficient cause
Feedback & supportLast amended by an amending law of 2018. 2 amendments in all.
Without affecting sections 81 and 84A, a notice of dismissal given without sufficient cause by an employer to a female employee which —
employer
“employer” means any person who employs another person under a contract of service and includes —(a)the Government in respect of such categories, classes or descriptions of officers or employees of the Government as are declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act;(b)any statutory authority;(c)the duly authorised agent or manager of the employer; and(d)the person who owns or is carrying on or for the time being responsible for the management of the profession, business, trade or work in which the employee is engaged;
if given before 1 May 2013, is given —
within a period of 6 months preceding the estimated delivery date for her confinement (as certified by a medical practitioner); or
within a period of 6 months preceding the date of her confinement;
if given on or after 1 May 2013, is given at any time of her pregnancy (as certified by a medical practitioner before the notice of dismissal is given), where the female employee has served the employer for a period of 3 months or more immediately preceding the day the notice is given; or
if given on or after 1 May 2013 but before 1 August 2013 and where the female employee has served the employer for a period of less than 3 months, is given —
within a period of 6 months preceding the estimated delivery date for her confinement (as certified by a medical practitioner); or
within a period of 6 months preceding the date of her confinement,does not have the effect of depriving her of any payment to which, but for that notice, she would have been entitled or would, on or before the date of her confinement, have become entitled to under this Part.
In any case where there are 2 or more estimated delivery dates (each certified by a medical practitioner) for the confinement of a female employee, the estimated delivery date that is relevant for the purposes of subsection (1) is the estimated delivery date —
medical practitioner
“medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner registered under the Medical Registration Act 1997, and includes a dentist registered under the Dental Registration Act 1999;
which is certified by a medical practitioner before the notice of dismissal is given by her employer; and
the date of such certification of which is closest to the date the notice of dismissal is given.
Subject to section 3 of the Employment Claims Act 2016, where a female employee in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c) considers that a notice of dismissal given to her was not given for sufficient cause, the female employee may lodge a claim, under section 13 of that Act, for either of the following remedies:
employee
“employee” means a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service with an employer and includes a workman, and any officer or employee of the Government included in a category, class or description of such officers or employees declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act or any provision thereof, but does not include any of the following:(a)any seafarer;(b)any domestic worker;(c) (d)any person belonging to any other class of persons whom the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare not to be employees for the purposes of this Act;
reinstatement in her former employment;
compensation.
If a Tribunal hearing the claim is satisfied that the female employee has been dismissed without sufficient cause, the Tribunal may, despite any rule of law or agreement to the contrary —
Tribunal
“Tribunal” means an Employment Claims Tribunal constituted under section 4 of the State Courts Act 1970;
in a claim for reinstatement of the employee in her former employment, direct the employer —
to reinstate the employee in her former employment; and
to pay the employee an amount equivalent to the wages that the employee would have earned, if she had not been dismissed by the employer; or
in a claim for compensation, direct the employer to pay, as compensation to the employee, an amount of wages determined by the Tribunal to be just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances of the case.