A recent story shared by a Malaysian woman on Threads has sparked widespread discussion about the treatment of probationary employees, especially when faced with unavoidable family emergencies.
“He hadn’t even passed the probationary stage yet. His employer said he wasn’t performing because he took too many days off,” she alleged in a Threads post.
According to a reply in the comments section, the husband allegedly took up to two weeks worth of leaves.
The woman recounted how her husband was allegedly dismissed from his job for taking these emergency leaves for their children’s hospitalisation, a Covid-19 infection, and his mother’s funeral.
She also mentioned that he contracted Covid-19 after returning from the funeral, which was held in Terengganu.
The mother of two further alleged that her husband informed of his termination on the day he was let go, adding that there was no discussion regarding the matter beforehand.
Additionally, the woman had updated in the comments section that her husband will not take any legal action against the employer as he wants to look for another job and move on with his life.
Her post has since drawn both empathy and criticism towards rigid workplace policies, prompting many to share similar experiences from the past.
While companies have the right to evaluate performance, many believe that compassion during personal crises should not be viewed as a liability.
“Thirty years ago, we really didn’t dare take medical leave during probation. You could only take annual leave after a year of working. At one place I worked, in the second month, my father passed away. I immediately resigned with 24 hours’ notice,” a user reminisced about their past work experiences.
“The employer is kind of a red flag if they can’t tolerate these kinds of emergencies. Trust me, there will be far bigger issues waiting,” another user assured the woman.
As some users pointed out, the husband may be eligible to report his case to the Department of Industrial Relations Malaysia and file for Employment Insurance System (EIS) benefits through PERKESO.