Staggered approach needed for implementation of new employment rules
While the new Employment Act rules are set to kick off next month, more businesses are asking for additional time and a step-by-step implementation to provide a soft landing amid the economic recovery. Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia chairman Datuk William Ng proposed SMEs be given at least a year so that they could align their internal processes and staffing.
The new rules to be enforced from September 1 include the reduction of maximum working hours per week from 48 to 45, increases in maternity and paternity leave, the implementation of a flexible working arrangement (FWA) and increased penalties for businesses that are found to have breached the Act. Datuk Ng said one of the key challenges would be the FWA. “Our stand remains that this should be a private arrangement between employers and employees.“Many SMEs are already transitioning into some form of FWA, but making it mandatory would add an unnecessary hurdle to our recovery. “The longer maternity leave could have been better supported such as via co-paying of the leave by the government as practised in Singapore, or to tier it so that it is 98 days for the first two children and 60 days for the third and fourth,” he said. Datuk Ng said the association was supportive of the changes, but hoped the government would take a stepped approach in enforcing the rules.
The Star
