Malaysia lets employers choose whether to allow WFH

This was announced by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who said there would no longer be restrictions on workforce capacity from next month. “We will leave it to employers to release their own guidelines,” he said.

He noted that though some employers have permanently moved to WFH arrangements, others are still taking a flexible approach. For example, if many workers are down with COVID-19, some employers would implement WFH.

At the peak of the pandemic, employers were encouraged to adopt the WFH concept or rotate their non-essential workers to curb the spread of the virus.

SME Association of Malaysia president Ding Hong Sing said that it was time for employees to work from the factories and offices, adding that some were already operating at 100% onsite capacity.

Ding said, “If there is a positive COVID-19 case in the office or factory, then they can close for seven days and temporarily WFH. Once there is a positive case, we will swab test everyone.”

Concurring, Malaysian Trades Union Congress acting president Mohd Effendy Abdul Ghani said it was the right time for employees to return to the workplace as most were already fully vaccinated.

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Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said it would be ideal to let employers choose whether to implement WFH or have a rotational work system based on their respective risk assessments, according to Asia News Network.