Chairman S Vanithamany handed down the decision in favour of Eric Koh last week.

Koh, who started working with the low-cost airline in July 2018, tendered his resignation after he was placed on furlough in 2022 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The airline had reduced Koh’s basic salary by 75% during the period, citing border restrictions which had grounded flights.

Koh claimed that he was forced to resign as the decision to slash his pay had jeopardised his livelihood.

AirAsia, however, argued that Koh resigned on his own volition.

Vanithamany held that AirAsia had no right to deduct more than 50% of Koh’s salary without his consent.

“Koh’s contract did not mention anything about the number of times he should fly in a month in order to draw the basic salary,” she said, adding that only allowances payable to Koh were computed based on how frequently he flew in a month.

The court also noted that AirAsia reported profits for 2021 despite the pandemic.

“Looking at the facts at hand, it appears that the company had imposed these furloughs and unpaid salary schemes on the claimant (Koh) without his consent as he had no choice but to accept it due to a training bond he signed,” said Vanithamany.

“They also implemented the 75% salary reduction on the claimant unlawfully,” she said, pointing out that AirAsia did not adduce evidence to back its claim that the director-general of industrial relations consented to the move.

The court awarded Koh RM232,320 in back wages and RM36,300 as compensation in lieu of reinstatement.

Lawyers Leow Ho Eng and Tiffany Chin appeared for Koh, while Wendy Lam and Wong Jia Ee represented AirAsia.