What Is A Job Description?

Job Description is a document that sets out the duties and responsibilities of an employee; it usually details what work is to be performed, how that work is to be performed, and what are the expected outcomes from that employee.

Here is an example:

Does A Job Description Form Part of the Employment Contract?

There are two situations where a Job Description can form part of the Employment Contract.

The first situation is where a copy of the Job Description was annexed to the employment contract. This can be seen in the case of Asidaz Arockiasamy v The Elements @ Ampang JMB (Case No:22(15)/4-1492/19) where the Court held that since the Claimant had signed the letter of appointment which was annexed with the Job Description, the Job Description was found to form part of the employment contract and was binding on the Claimant.

The second situation is where a Job Description was given separately from the employment contract. In the case of Tan Heng Ser v Financial Planning Association of Malaysia (Case No:15/4-1124/15)[1] the Claimant contended that not only that the Job Description was given after his appointment, the new Job Description also added responsibilities that altered his existing job scope substantially. The Court however held that the implementation of Job Description by the new Chief Executive Officer was based on the job titles of all employees and was a bona fide exercise within the prerogative of the Company as an employer. The Court held that in fact, the issuance of a written Job Description was for role clarity purposes and to improve efficiency and productivity. As such, the Court held that the Claimant was bound by the terms of the Job Description and the Company did not cause any constructive dismissal.

However, there are also cases where the Court did not favour the Job Description. In SMT Technologies Sdn Bhd v Azbeel Singh Gill a/l Ravinder Singh & Anor (2021) MLJU 488[2], the Claimant averred that the new Job Description was very much different from his current job function as a Senior Security Officer. His job scope had substantially changed from “ensuring role & responsibilities of subordinates are complied with accordingly” to “secure premises & personnel by patrolling every day”. The Court in the case found that the Company had breached the terms of the employment contract when the Claimant was re-designated to a position which was effectively a loss in seniority, as shown in the new Job Description given to the Claimant. The Court held that the Company had constructively dismissed the Claimant.

Why Is It Important to Have A Job Description?

Having a Job Description will allow employees to know what is expected of them. Further, once an employee had signed the Job Description, the employee is taken to have understood and validated his/her Job Description and he/she is then bound to carry out the duties as set out in the Job Description.

This avoids employees from claiming they don’t know what they were supposed to do, or that a certain task was or was not part of their job scope. Similarly, employers will need to justify if they assign tasks or responsibilities to employees that are clearly beyond the employees’ duties as laid out in the Job Description.

The most apparent example is in the case of Catherine Law Cheng Gaik v Saiwai Land Sdn Bhd (2018) 4 ILJ 3 where Judge Augustine Anthony held that the accusation of poor performance against the employee was not proven by the Company because the Company, although claiming that it has briefed the Claimant extensively on her supposed role and duties, could not prove the same with documentary evidence. Thus, the claim of her failing to perform her role and duties satisfactorily also failed. This could have been avoided if there was a written Job Description.

Similarly, in the case of Yeo Teck Seng Sdn Bhd v Foong Seong Hor (2003) ILJU 6, Judge Amelia Tee advised employers to inform their employees about their job functions in writing simply because an oral description can be easily forgotten and also capable of being misunderstood. Without a written Job Description, an employer will be placed in a difficult position to prove any complaint of poor performance or non-performance on the part of the employee.

On the other hand, in Encik Yussof Bin Momin v Bumiputra Commerce Bank Bhd (Case No:17/4-1085/07), the Court found in favour of the Company and held that the Claimant had committed a misconduct when the employee acted beyond what was stipulated in his Job Description. The Job Description clearly stated that the Claimant was not given the authority to sign any letters of confirmation on behalf of the Company, but the Claimant did that anyway. Consequently, the Court found that the Company has proven that the Claimant committed misconduct and therefore his dismissal was with just cause.

Conclusion

In conclusion, providing a Job Description is a highly recommended labour practice, and ideally, it should be provided to the employee at the earliest time possible (see also Encik Ho Seng Fatt v Strateq System Sdn Bhd [2018] ILJU 1). Otherwise, the absence of written records and documents will always create room for ambiguity and may cause misunderstanding to both employers and employees.

More importantly, as can be seen from the cases above, a Job Description is useful evidence whenever there is a claim of wrongful or constructive dismissal. The Job Description will be key for either party to prove or disprove any claim of poor performance, misconduct, or redundancy.

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Authored with the kind assistance of my able interns Bernice and Oliver