Does the Employment Act Amendment Cover All Workers?

The Ministry of Human Resources (MOHR) recently informed that the main amendment in the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021, which was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on March 21, aims to extend the application of the Employment Act 1955 to all employees, regardless of their salary. 

 

Employment Act currently applies only to specific employees

In a statement, the ministry said that, as of now, the Employment Act only applies to the categories of employees defined in the First Schedule.

Currently, the Employment Act applies to:

• Employees who earn RM2,000 and below, and

• Workers without wage limits, such as manual labour workers, workers who supervise manual labour workers, workers involved in the operation of motor vehicles and domestic workers. 

MOHR stated that with the extension in the amendment, any existing provisions of the Employment Act that touch on employee salary limits should be repealed, specifically these sections:

• 44A, 

• 69B, 

• 69C, 

• 69E and 

• 81G.

The human resources ministry said follow-up amendments should be made to the First Schedule of the Employment Act via an order in line with the Minister of Human Resources' powers under subsection 2 (2) of Act 265 to allow all workers in Malaysia to receive the minimum benefits and protection specified under the act. 

The ministry stated that it has already prepared a draft order to amend the First Schedule and ensured that it will enforce the order simultaneously on the effective date of the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021, which will be determined later. 

 

Recent amendments to the Employment Act:

• Allowing employees to request flexible working arrangements from their employers, which depends on the suitability of the work duration and workplace.

• Extending the employees' maternity leave from 90 to 98 days.

• Married male employees now get a seven-day paid paternity leave for each birth, with a maximum of five. The paternity leave is also irrespective of the male employee's number of spouses. The employee must be working with the same employer for at least 12 months to be eligible.

• Employers are now prohibited from terminating female employees who are pregnant or suffering from conditions arising out of their pregnancy, EXCEPT on grounds related to misconduct, wilful employment contract breach, or business closure. 

• Under the new Section 90B, an employer who threatens, deceives or forces an employee to do any work and prevent them from leaving their place of work is committing a forced labour offence. The employer can be fined RM100,000 maximum or imprisoned for up to two years or both. 

• The law now requires employers to display notices at the workplace to increase awareness on sexual harassment.

 

Source: BERNAMA