MRCA Event
34
Employment Law In Malaysia: An Overview And Recent Updates Ting Lee Ping, Legal Assistant at RingoLow & Associates and Dr Affendi Dahlan, Council Member of MRCA explained about the statutory rights under the Employment Act (EA) 1955, the issue of termination of employment, retrenchment and vaccination of employees. haring his perspectives from the employer angle, Ting explained that there are various sources of employment law in Malaysia, with one of the main sources being the Employment Act 1955.
S
EMPLOYEES COVERED BY THE EMPLOYMENT ACT Ting says that workers earning less than RM2,000 are covered under the EA. He adds that there are categories of workers that may be earning more than RM2,000 who are also covered under the EA, due to their nature of work which encompasses various functions. As for employees who are not covered under the EA, the employment relationship is determined by the terms and conditions in the employment contract between the employer and employee.
WAGES Under Section 2 of the EA, “wages” means basic wages and all other payments in cash payable to an employee for work done in respect of his contract of service but does not include accommodation, food, fuel, medical attention, EPF, travelling allowance, work-incurred expenses, gratuity or bonuses. Section 18 states that the wage period stated in the employment contract cannot exceed one month, meaning wages has to be paid every month. Section 19 states that every Malaysia Retailer Vol 9 No 4
employer has to ensure that wages are paid, not later than the seventh day of the following month. Meanwhile, Section 37(d)(ii) of the EA states that female employees are entitled to 60 consecutive days of paid maternity leave.
REST DAYS Where rest days are concerned, Section 59 provides clear directives that state employees are entitled to at least 1 day of rest per week. Employees cannot be ordered to work on a rest day, except if an accident happens at work, or if the employee performs work that is essential to the life of the community, or if there is urgent maintenance required on the employer’s machinery or plant.
WORK HOURS Ting explains that work hours are clarified under Section 60A(1),
whereby employees are not required to work more than five consecutive hours without a period of rest of not less than 30 minutes. The EA also states that employees are not required to work more than 8 hours in one day, or in excess of a spread over a period of 10 hours per day. They are also not required to work more than 48 hours in one week.
ANNUAL LEAVE AND SICK LEAVE Section 60E clarifies annual leave, whereby employees are entitled to paid annual leave and the minimum days are set as follows. (Table 1) Ting explains that employees can convert annual leave into sick leave in the event he falls sick on his annual leave, while women can also convert their annual leave into maternity leave. He adds that if the employee has not taken his annual leave yet but has been
