Think of your company as a resilient ship, your employees as skilled sailors, and you, the employer as the trusted captain. To sail this ship smoothly, staying in the loop on Employment law is a must. It is like having the latest map to ensure your company sails smoothly through the work journey.
The Malaysian employment and industrial relationship are generally governed by the Employment Act 1955 (EA1955) and the Industrial Relations Act 1967. In today’s article, we are going to focus on the latest amendments for EA 1955 which has came into effect on 1 January 2023 to ensure employer like you are prepared and in compliance with the same.
The Latest Amendments for EA 1955
- The EA 1955 now expands its coverage to all employees regardless of salary limits. Employees who are making over RM4,000.00 per month are however not entitled to overtime pay, pay for work on rest days, pay for work on public holidays and termination benefits.
- The maternity leave days have now increased from 60 days to 98 days, and this applies to all female employees regardless of the salary limit. Further, besides from closure of your business, you cannot terminate the service of a female employee who is pregnant or unwell due to pregnancy.
- As for employees who have a pregnant wife, they are now entitled to a paid paternity leave for consecutive 7 days, provided that the respective employee is legally married to his partner, has worked for at least 12 months with you, has informed you at least 30 days before his wife give birth or as soon as possible after his wife give birth and such entitlement is limited to 5 births regardless of the number of wives.
- Take note that the entitlement mentioned in paragraph 3 above applies to an employee whose wife has experienced a miscarriage too, subject to the wife having undergone at least 22 weeks of pregnancy.
- The maximum working hours for employees in Malaysia are now 45 hours per week, excluding lunch hour.
- The entitlement amount for sick and hospitalization leave are as follows:
| Length of service | Paid sick leave | Paid hospitalization leaves |
| < 2 years | 14 days | 60 days |
| 2-5 years | 18 days | 60 days |
| >5 years | 22 days | 60 days |
- Employees are now allowed to request for flexible and remote working arrangements (commonly known as Work from Home) where such request has to be made in writing and you as the employer must respond within 60 days and if the request is declined, a valid and reasonable reason shall be given.
The above are the geez of the latest amendment for EA 1955. Do you know that you can be fined for an amount not exceeding RM50,000.00 in the event you violate any provision of EA 1955? Speak to us to learn more about EA 1955 and to do a company health check on your company to ensure that your company are in compliance with EA 1955.
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