Employers and employees alike, do take note! In the latest amendment to the Employment Act, Malaysians will now begin to see a reduction of weekly working hours from 48 hours to 45 hours, effective September 1st 2022. According to local paper The Star, the announcement was made by Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Awang Hashim to Dewan Negara.
The amendment is meant to serve as a means to safeguard the welfare of workers, while also providing added flexibility where working hours are concerned, as per the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention.
Flexible working arrangements will also be introduced
Alongside this development is also the introduction of a new section to the Act which will provide provisions for employees to make use of flexible working arrangements. Likely prompted by the virtual and hybrid workplace arrangements adopted by companies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the move is expected to foster more flexible and sustainable working schedules moving forwards.
Also slated to begin from September 1st onwards, the new ruling will mean that employees will have the right to submit an application to carry out their workplace duties based upon a flexible workplace setting. This will involve changes to their working hours, working days, in addition to workplace locations, which will enable the potential for remote working opportunities.
This is in line with the previously announced Flexible Workplace Arrangement initiative that Hashim introduced earlier in the month of June. Employers will have 60 days to give a written response as to whether the application has been approved or denied. In the event that it has been denied, they are also required to explain the reasons behind the rejection.
With that said, there are still currently no plans to implement a four-day workweek, according to the deputy minister.
Earlier this year, it was revealed by mobile access technology firm Kisi that Kuala Lumpur ranks third in it’s index of most overworked cities in the world.
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