Can you be fired for leaving your company WhatsApp group? The case went to three courts.

You've been added to eleven company WhatsApp groups. One of them pings at 11pm. You mute it, then eventually you leave it.

Can that get you fired?

The case everyone cites is Thilagavathy a/p Arunasalam v Maxis Mobile Sdn Bhd (Award No. 1050 of 2019). It's quoted in dozens of Malaysian articles, almost always as: Industrial Court says yes, you can be fired for leaving the group.

That's true. It's also incomplete in a way that changes the whole lesson.

The case went through three courts:

1. Industrial Court, 27 March 2019 — dismissal upheld.
2. Kuala Lumpur High Court, 1 July 2020 — award quashed on judicial review, case sent back to be reheard by a different chairman.
3. Court of Appeal, 11 October 2021 — High Court decision set aside, Industrial Court award reinstated.

So the dismissal stands. But the High Court's reasons for quashing it are the most useful part of the whole story, and they're missing from nearly every article on this topic — including ours previously.

1. What actually happened

Thilagavathy was an Executive, Sales & Service in customer service at Maxis. The company used WhatsApp groups as an official communication channel, including for Daily Sales and Service reports.

She left a group. Her Branch Manager warned her and instructed her to inform him before exiting any group chat in future. She did it again. A show cause was issued; the company found her explanation unreasonable. She was dismissed for misconduct and an uncooperative attitude.

She claimed unfair dismissal, seeking reinstatement and compensation.

The Industrial Court's reasoning, in the passage most often quoted:

The company was entitled to give all reasonable and legal directions about how work should be conducted, and where those directions are flouted and a worker behaves in an insubordinate manner, the proper functioning of the establishment becomes impossible — so such disobedience is serious misconduct.

The court also relied on Kamala Loshanee Amabalavanar v Jaffnese Co-Operative Society (1998) for the principle that past misconduct is relevant, and that where similar acts are repeated, the cumulative effect may justify dismissal.

Two findings of misconduct were made: quitting the WhatsApp group without her supervisor's approval, in breach of company policy, and failing to submit Sales and Service Reports on the relevant dates.

2. Why the High Court quashed it — the part that matters to employees

On judicial review, the employee argued that leaving the group wasn't a breach of her letter of offer or any specific company policy.

The High Court agreed enough to quash the award and order a rehearing. Its findings:

The instruction wasn't clearly communicated. Based on the supervisor's own evidence, it wasn't clear that employees had been told approval was required before leaving a WhatsApp group. The court found it reasonable that she may not have known.

A WhatsApp group isn't automatically an instruction. The group existed to facilitate communication between supervisor and employees — that alone doesn't amount to an instruction whose breach violates the terms of employment.

Context was ignored. She had left the group temporarily because she was going on annual leave, and would have rejoined afterwards. The Industrial Court hadn't taken that into account.

The High Court also found the Industrial Court hadn't properly considered her performance evidence — she had submitted reports through the company system — and noted that communications between her and her supervisor showed signs of biased treatment before the termination.

One crucial nuance: the High Court did not find the dismissal unfair. It found the Industrial Court's decision-making process defective and sent it back for a rehearing. Judicial review examines the process, not the merits.

Then the Court of Appeal set that aside and reinstated the original award in October 2021.

3. What this actually means for you

Three practical lessons, none of which is "never leave a WhatsApp group."

It's about insubordination, not WhatsApp. The legal principle is that employees must comply with lawful instructions, and it isn't for an employee to decide an instruction is impractical or unreasonable and therefore ignorable. WhatsApp is just the medium. The same analysis would apply to refusing to use any designated work system.

Clear policy is the hinge. The High Court's objections were all about clarity — was there a written policy, were employees told, was the requirement communicated? Where an employer has a documented policy that employees have acknowledged, its position is strong. Where the "rule" lives in one manager's head, it's weak.

Nobody gets fired for one exit. Look at the actual facts: a prior warning, a repeat, a separate performance issue with reports, and a documented pattern of what the company characterised as an uncooperative attitude. The Industrial Court expressly relied on past misconduct and cumulative effect.

On the other side, the High Court's observation about biased treatment and inconsistent application matters. The supervisor testified that approval to leave a group rested solely on his discretion — which, as commentators noted, makes consistent treatment of employees unlikely. Selective enforcement is a real vulnerability for employers.

4. The bigger question: after-hours messages

The WhatsApp case is usually really a proxy for a different worry — being contactable at all hours.

Malaysia has no "right to disconnect" law. There's no statutory right to ignore work messages outside working hours, unlike jurisdictions that have legislated one.

What does exist:

Working hours under the Employment Act 1955, with overtime provisions for eligible employees. If you're regularly required to work outside your hours, the question isn't really WhatsApp — it's whether you're being required to work unpaid, which is a proper Labour Department complaint.

Constructive dismissal where an employer's conduct amounts to a fundamental breach of the employment contract. Sustained, unreasonable after-hours demands could form part of such a claim, though it's a high bar and resigning first is risky.

Harassment — if the messages are sexual in nature, that's the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act and TAGS, which is a much more direct route. See also: [Your boss brushed off your harassment complaint](/p/sexual-harassment-complaint-workplace-malaysia)

Practical reality: the safest response to an overwhelming group isn't to leave it. It's to mute it, and raise the workload issue with your manager in writing.

5. If you're an employer

The High Court's criticisms are essentially a compliance checklist.

• Write the policy down. If WhatsApp is an official channel, say so in writing, including whether permission is needed to leave a group.
• Get acknowledgment. Have employees sign or acknowledge the policy, so nobody can later say they didn't know.
• Apply it consistently. If approval rests on a single manager's discretion, you'll struggle to show equal treatment — and inconsistency is what the High Court picked up on.
• Don't rely on the group exit alone. Document performance issues separately, issue warnings, and follow proper show cause procedure.
• Be careful about after-hours expectations. They're not currently unlawful in Malaysia, but they feed into constructive dismissal narratives and they're increasingly scrutinised.

What to actually do

If you're an employee:

• Don't leave a work group without checking whether there's a policy or instruction about it. Ask, in writing.
• Mute rather than leave. It solves the actual problem without creating a disciplinary one.
• If you leave temporarily — annual leave, medical leave — tell your supervisor in writing first. That single message would have changed this case considerably.
• If you receive a show cause letter, respond in writing, factually, and keep a copy. Don't ignore it.
• If you're dismissed, you have 60 days from dismissal to file a representation for reinstatement under section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act 1967. That deadline is strict — get advice quickly.

If you're being overwhelmed after hours:

• Raise it in writing with your manager. Create the record.
• If it's unpaid work beyond your hours, that's a Labour Department (JTK) matter.
• If it's sexual in nature, that's TAGS, not a WhatsApp problem.