Malaysia - Revision of the Employment Act 1955 as of 2023
There are some important revisions that have been made to the Employment Act 1955 as of the year 2023. Everyone especially human resource business practitioners should look into the revision of the Employment Act 1955 to ensure that the business organization is aligned with the Employment Act all the time and that all employee’s welfare is being taken care of.
Below are some of the important amendments to the Employment Act 1955 as of the year 2023:
1) EA1955 to cover all employees of different wages. Employees who earn RM4,000 and above are exempted from certain provisions of the Act such as:
Section 60(3) – Overtime rates that applied during off days
Section 60A(3) – Overtime rates that applied out of normal working time
Section 60C(2A) – Allowance for shift-based work
Section 60D(3) – Public Holidays Overtime
Section 60D(4) – Half day overtime that falls on a working holiday
Section 60J – Termination, lay-off
2) Flexible working arrangement is included in the Employment Act due to the post-pandemic business landscape. Employees can appeal for hybrid working arrangements from employers and employers need to reply to employees within 60 days. Reasons should be given if there’s rejection.
3) Overall working hours on a weekly basis have changed from 48 hours to 45 hours (excluding meal time).
4) Increasing maternity days of entitlement from 60 days to 98 days.
5) A working father whose wife is pregnant and about to give birth is entitled to paternity leave up to 7 days of paid leave consecutively. However, under terms of conditions, he must be working with the same company within 12 months and must be able to inform his employer in advance 30 days from the expected confinement.
6) Employers are not allowed to terminate pregnant mothers except for breach of contractions, misconduct, and closure of business.