Malaysia amending employment law to cater for WFH

The government is proposing a change to the current employment law to support a work-from-home (WFH) culture even in the post-pandemic era.
By: | March 30, 2021

For civil servants, working from home will be the norm even in the post-COVID era, said the Public Service Department. Similarly, private-sector workers will also be allowed to adopt this practice in the long run. 

This comes about as the country’s Human Resources Ministry is proposing to amend the Employment Act 1955 to facilitate WFH. 

“WFH will become a new norm for employees, and it should not be considered an option or temporary solution due to the pandemic, but a new practice in the workplace. 

“There is a new proposed provision to the Employment Act 1955 that will benefit the private sector – a provision for flexible working arrangements. This new provision is aimed at supporting WFH culture, and also to increase employee productivity while promoting work-life balance,” the ministry said. 

The ministry added that the practice will also help optimise the use of human resources and costs borne by the employer. Employees will have an option to decide how they want to work, whether in the office or at home, as this will depend very much on their personal circumstances, subject to the employer’s approval.

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The ministry advised employers to communicate clear internal policies of the company to their staff so that the latter knows what exactly is suitable and acceptable when they are working from home. 

“In this case, employers must develop and introduce their own policy or standard operating procedure based on their working culture, environment and also the job description of each employee,” the ministry said, according to The Star.