FRIDAYS' FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
WHEN WINNING IS NOT EVERYTHING

Ask any successful person and they will tell you that they have faced more failures than success. After all, even Thomas A. Edison did not succeed a thousand times in inventing the light bulb and it was only in his 1001 attempt did he succeed.

Whilst winning is important, in the legal industry, more often than not that decision is an external factor dictated by many circumstances beyond our control. What we can control is the efforts that we put in, the hard work and determination and the daily grind. Focus on what you can control and do not worry of those beyond your control.

In mostly every litigious matter, there are only 2 parties involved and one is going to lose while the other is going to win. Sometimes even despite mediation appearing to be successful on the surface, there is always that one party that will feel like it was a loss. Never mind what happened yesterday, in order to grow, one need to keep moving forward.

Winning is not everything, it is only a possible outcome beyond your control. Putting your everything into something is what matters. Who knows what the outcome may be?

Whilst winning may not always reach our doorstep as often as we like, but when it comes deservingly, it is truly satisfying.

We are truly happy and blessed that we managed to successfully bring an end to both of our Clients' matters mid-way through trial and got the results far beyond their expectations. And the win is even more satisfying when the Clients expressed their gratitude and appreciation for our hard work, efforts, commitments, dedications and of course the late nights.

Both the Clients were represented by our Mr. Viknesh Selvanathan and assisted by Edmund Chow and Joanne Jankins.

#proudtobeVY #VikneshandYap #VY #WinningIsNotEverything #LearnToLoveYourself

Success Starts with an Idea, and Our Meetings Bring Them to Life.”

We had our year-end meeting on the last Friday for the year on 28.12.2023 to wrap up the year 2023. For us, 2023 has been a roller-coaster of a ride with plenty of ups and downs, to say the least, but that’s all in the past. Let’s embrace the coming year by reflecting on the past and making changes for the better and grow. As the oft-quoted saying We Don’t Plan to Fail, We Only Fail To Plan”.

We would also like to take this opportunity to express our appreciations to all our Friends, Clients, Business Partners and our LinkedIn Connections for your support and making us relevant. Thank you for your support and we look forward to continue rendering our assistance and services and improve ourselves day-by-day to continue delivering top-notch legal services to you in the year 2024.

Happy New Year & Happy Holiday to everyone from all of us at the VY Team!

#vikneshyap #vy #legal #newyear2024 #2024planning

Before the curtains draw to a close, we at VIKNESH & YAP, Advocates & Solicitors, would like to wish all our Clients, Business Partners, Friends and LinkedIn Connections a very Happy New Year 2024. Our heartfelt gratitude to all who have been supportive of us and without your support, we will never be where we are today and will not achieve the many successes we have enjoyed throughout this year.

A special mention needs to be made to Saraswathi Ravindran, our dearest friend, who has always been particularly supportive of us and encouraged us and Mr. Viknesh Selvanathan to come out from the shadows and to start writing and authoring posts and articles.

Happy New Year 2024 to everyone and we look forward to a better and brighter future ahead and most importantly Peace around the world.

#NewYearWishes2024 #VikneshAndYap #HopeforBetterYearAhead #PrayForPeace #VYTeam #BuildingSuccessTogether

We wish all our dearest Clients, Friends and LinkedIn Connections here far and away a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year, 2024. May this Christmas and New Year fill you and your family with good health, good fortunes and luck, prosperity, greater success and wealth and happiness.

We pray that the New Year will bring peace and harmony to everyone in this world and end famine, hunger and poverty for the better of mankind.

Happy holidays to everyone and we at VIKNESH & YAP, Advocates & Solicitors, can't wait to meet and connect with you all again in the new chapter of 2024.

#ChristmasIsInTheAir #PrayForABetterWorld #HappyNewYear2024 #VikneshandYap #BuildingSuccessTogether

Wishing all our LinkedIn connections, clients, friends and families a very Happy Winter Solstice 2023. May your year be filled with many good fortunes, luck, health, wealth and success.

#vikneshandyap #stronger2024 #buildingsuccesstogether

Our Mr. Viknesh Selvanathan attending the C-Level Christmas Dinner 2023 with other members.

#vikneshandyap #VY #buildingsuccesstogether #evenlawyersneedabreak

MONDAY COFFEE POST– THE BINDING COMMITMENTS AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF QUOTATIONS AND INVOICES.


Good afternoon everyone,

Sit down, take a sip of coffee (or tea) while enjoy reading our Monday Coffee Post.

Have a great week ahead!

#vikneshyap #vy #contractlaw #invoices #quotations #commercial

MONDAY COFFEE TALK: EMPLOYMENT LAW
*Recent Development in the UK in Relation to Sex Harassment

It is interesting to note that the UK Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in its recent decision has upheld the employment tribunal's decision to hold the employer liable for the act of sex harassment when one of its employee berated the other by calling him bald.

Kate Palmer, HR advice and consultancy director at Peninsula, added: This decision is now rooted in case law and the judgment should serve as a reminder of the impact that remarks about a person’s physical appearance can have.”

Wonder whether we will see our Malaysian legislatures following suit hereinafter and adopting sex harassment laws from the UK aside from sexual harassment? Will await the developments in full anticipation and excitement.

Thank you Harry Abrams for sharing this wonderful and insightful piece.

#vikneshyap #vy #employmentlaw #workplaceharassment
#stoptheharassment #allharassmentisharassment

FRIDAYS' FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
What a Way to End the Year 2023!!!

2nd December, 2023 marked an eventful event for E3 Entrepreneurs Hubs & all of us at VIKNESH & YAP, Advocates & Solicitors as we attended E3 Entrepreneurs Hubs biggest event of the year i.e. its Annual Effectuators' Night 2023. We had a couple of proud takeaways from this event:

1) our Mr. Viknesh Selvanathan was one of the event committees alongside others who had all worked tirelessly and effortlessly to make the event a success despite a hectic work schedule;

2) VIKNESH & YAP, Advocates & Solicitors was also one of the proud sponsors for this event alongside others including Web Bytes Sdn Bhd @Xilnex who was the Platinum Sponsor & Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad, the Gold Sponsor.

It was a night of great camaraderie amongst members and non-members. There were many prize giveaways including lucky draws with the main event which saw E3 Entrepreneurs Hubs Chairman, founder and CEO, Prof. Andrew Wong giving away the prestigious Chairman Award to the top 10 carefully selected Entrepreneurs who had since excelled after undergoing incubations under the mentorship of Prof. Andrew Wong himself.

E3 Entrepreneurs Hubs Co-founder and COO, Calvin Quah was also on stage to present the Certificate of Appreciation to all sponsors for the event.

It was an exciting experience overall and we cannot wait for the next one already in 2024!

#supportingentreprenuers #entreprenuerslifeisnevereasy
#E3hubs #entreprenuersempoweringentreprenuers #vikneshyap #buildingsuccesstogether

FRIDAY’S FOOD FOR THOUGHT: I’ve won the case! Why I am still not getting my Monies Back?

#vy #vikneshyap #enforcement #judgment #legalknowledge

We wish all Muslims a very blessed Maulidur Rasul and happy holidays! 🙏🏽 May you and your family receive abundance of blessings on this special day. 😊

Monday Coffee Reads - Failure to Pay Minimum Wages A Criminal Offence?

TGIF Legal Scoop – The Race Against the Clock: Can You Sue in Time?

Ever thought about throwing down the legal gauntlet? Well, here’s a wild twist you might’ve missed: When considering legal action, an often overlooked aspect is the time limit within which you can sue someone. Many might not realize that legal actions come with a countdown timer” for initiating proceedings where such time limits assume the nature of a stopwatch, disallowing one to pursue a legal claim once the stopwatch expires. These time constraints exist to prevent undue delay in seeking justice and to bring a definite end to legal disputes, as highlighted by the Supreme Court in the case of Credit Corporation (M) Sdn. Bhd. v Fong Tak Sin [1991] 1 CLJ (Rep) 69, which is only fair to everyone playing the game.

To prevent such situations, we are guided by the Limitation Act, 1953, which governs the varying time limits in our civil law system. For instance, claims stemming from contractual or tortious acts generally must be enforced and instituted within 6 years from the event, either when the contract was breached or damage had occurred, else, one would generally be barred from making such claims. Imagine being unexpectedly sued years after an incident you've forgotten about – that doesn't seem fair, does it?

To paint a clearer picture, let's dive into an illustrative scenario. Amy was bitten by Jake's dog in 2015 due to Jake's negligence in keeping control of his pet, yet Amy only files a lawsuit in 2022. The concept of time limitation comes into play, affecting the enforceability of her claim despite her valid grievance as time starts ticking the moment the impugned action comes in play, i.e. when Amy was bitten by Jake’s dog. Judges, in reliance of the Limitation Act, aim to handle cases effectively and ensure that legal disputes are resolved in reasonable timeframes, so they may dismiss time-barred cases.

But hold your horses, as there are loopholes offered by the Limitation Act, intended to extend the limitation period. Situations involving issues of disability, estate administration and acknowledgment of debt, or cases where fraud, concealment, or mistakes are involved may hit the snooze button on that ticking timer or even reset that clock from ticking in the first place. In essence, compliance with these limitation periods are not just intended as good administration, rather understanding and respecting these time limits is crucial for ensuring fairness, efficiency and timely resolution in the legal system.

Although the Limitation Act might seem like an intricate legal concept, but it’s essentially a timekeeper for legal disputes. Essentially, it’s all about wrapping things up and giving legal disputes a grand finale.

We trust that the above have given you a sneak peek into the captivating concept of limitation periods. However, please do not hesitate to reach out to us should you intend to delve deeper on the above.

By Pang Zi Ying & Ashvini Jegathesan.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

We are pleased to announce that Ashvini Jegathesan and Pang Zi Ying have both joined the Firm as Interns with effect on 17.07.2023.

Both Ashvini Jegathesan and Pang Zi Ying are currently third year law students from the Malaysia Multimedia University (MMU) and have followed suit in their predecessors’ footsteps to commence internships with us.

We are thrilled to have these young, passionate, and talented individuals in the VY Team and we believe that they will gain valuable experiences and insights into the daily life, routine and rigours of real life lawyers during their time with us.

Welcome to Viknesh & Yap!

#newinterns #vy #vikneshyap #futurelawyers

MONDAY COFFEE POST - WHAT IS A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU)

Good day to everyone!

Hope you enjoy having a cup of coffee while reading our Monday's post of the week!

#vikneshyap #VY #legalknowledge #memorandumofunderstanding #mou #agreement

Wishing all Muslims a very blessed and Happy Awal Muharram and welcome to the start of the Islamic New Year 1445. May you all have a blessed year throughout filled with happiness and good health. Happy Holidays to all as well.

Best wishes from the Team of Viknesh & Yap!

#awalmuharramwishes #happyholidays #vikneshyap #vy #kitajagakita

MONDAY COFFEE TALK: EMPLOYMENT LAW

Q: DOES MERELY HAVING AN 'MC' JUSTIFIES AN EMPLOYEE'S CONTINUOUS ABSENCE FROM WORK?

The answer is: Not Necessarily.

We had the opportunity of visiting and submitting on this issue.

We acted for the Company in the Industrial Court where one of its employees claimed of being unfairly dismissed.

Prior to the facts leading to the employee’s dismissal, the employee in this case had continuously absent herself from work for a period of almost 2 weeks from 16.07.2018 to 01.08.2018 and within the 1st week of her absence and after having been issued with a show cause notice on 24.07.2018, her husband dropped by at the Company's premises and produced medical certificates to the Company during the midst of her supposed medical leave which included an extended medical leave until 25.07.2018.

Being dissatisfied with these medical certificates provided as no reasons were provided therein coupled with the employee’s refusal to respond to the show cause notice issued by the Company, the Company finally terminated the employee by way of letter via registered post sent to her place of residence with immediate effect on 01.08.2018.

The Industrial Court having evaluated the overall evidence during the trial was satisfied that the employee’s dismissal was fair and dismissed the employee’s claim for unfair dismissal.

It is also worth noting that in arriving at its findings, the Industrial Court also took into consideration the employee’s previous disciplinary records of absenteeism and late comings in the Company.

Our Managing Partner, Viknesh Selvanathan represented the Company and it was a truly satisfying and justified win for the Company and the team at VY.

So Employees,…Beware!!!

#employmentlaw #unfairdismissal #industrialcourt #vikneshyap #vy

MONDAY COFFEE POST– WHEN A PARTY SUED IS RESIDING OVERSEAS, HOW DO I SERVE COURT PAPERS ON SUCH PARTY?

Good morning everyone. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Here's our Monday Coffee post to beat your Monday blues.

Have a great week ahead!

#vikneshyap #VY #legalknowledge #service #court #papers #foreign #defendant

MONDAY COFFEE TALK: EMPLOYMENT LAW -
RELOCATION OF COMPANY

We had the privilege to revisit the issue on a Company's right to relocate its business premises and whether its employees had the right not to continue on with their respective employments when such relocation exercise is implemented.

The dispute involved 4 of the Company's former long serving employees of the Company who, despite the Company having decided to relocate its sales and production operations from Sungai Besi to 2 separate locations with the sales and head office being relocated to Balakong whilst the factory was relocated to Semenyih, had decided not to continue on with their employments respectively at the new locations.

What had started from a trial at the Labour Court before the President of the Labour Court where the Labour Court had found in favour of the Company, the 4 Claimants then proceeded to appeal to the High Court and to the Court of Appeal.

Our Managing Partner, Viknesh Selvanathan, acted for the Company in this matter from the stage of the trial at the Labour Court all through the appeal at the Court of Appeal.

At the hearing proper before the Court of Appeal, the learned Court of Appeal Judges comprising of Y.A. Datuk Vazeer Alam bin Mydin Meera, Y.A. Datuk Supang Lian & Y.A. Dato' Mohd Nazlan bin Mohd Ghazali in a unanimous decision agreed with our arguments put forth placing reliance on the test and principles laid out in the case of Metaldek Industries Sdn. Bhd. v. Kamaruddin Tokimon & Ors [1999] 2 CLJ 761 and adopted by the Court of Appeal in the case of Ladang Holyrood v. Ayasamy Manikam & Ors [2004] 2 CLJ 697.

Hence, in considering whether an employee has the right to refuse to continue with his/her employment under a relocation exercise and claim for termination benefits, the following will be considered by the Courts:

(a) the distance of the old and new premises; and

(b) the resultant inconvenience caused to the employees affected.

Essentially, the question to be determined is whether the degree of the forced change is fundamental enough to breach the contract.

Of course, as in every other exercise by the employers under its prerogatives, such exercise must not be actuated by any ulterior motive and done in bad faith.

The Claimants' appeals were dismissed and they were hence disentitled to any termination benefits pursuant to Reg. 4 (1) of the Employment (Termination And Lay-Off Benefits) Regulations 1980.

It is also important to note that both the cases of Metaldek Industries (supra) and Ladang Holyrood (supra) highlights that a distinction must be made between a relocation exercise” and a transfer order” as the 2 denotes an entirely different exercise altogether.

In the end, it was an important and well-deserved win for our Client and all of us at VY.
#vikneshyap #VY #employment #industrialrelations #relocation #transfer