MEF urges continued remote work for Covid-positive employees

The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), the country’s leading employer organisation, is urging organisations to continue offering work-from-home arrangements for employees who test positive for COVID-19. This recommendation comes despite the recent cancellation of mandatory quarantine requirements for positive cases.

Datuk Syed Hussain Syed Husman, President of the MEF, emphasised the importance of work-from-home policies in controlling the spread of the virus within workplaces, particularly for the protection of vulnerable employees.

“The MEF believes that working from home should be considered an option for employees infected with COVID-19, as it effectively helps contain the spread of the virus,” he explained. “Psychologically, the absence of an infected employee from the workplace can provide peace of mind to colleagues, enabling them to focus better on their tasks.”

This stance comes after the Ministry of Health announced that individuals testing positive for COVID-19 would no longer be subjected to Home Surveillance Orders (HSOs), aligning the treatment of COVID-19 with other respiratory infections. The removal of HSOs is part of the revised standard operating procedures under the ministry’s Living with COVID-19 phase.

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Health experts, including public health physician Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar, support the decision to lift the HSOs. Dr Zainal stated that as COVID-19 is now considered an endemic, a blanket quarantine system is unnecessary and should be reserved for severe cases.

However, Datuk Syed Hussain acknowledged that the ultimate decision on remote work for infected employees lies within individual organisations. “If the organisation requires employees to be physically present, infected employees must comply with returning to the workplace,” he said.

In such scenarios, he stressed the importance of adhering to best practices, including the use of face masks and physical distancing, to safeguard employee health, reported New Straits Times.