Working From Home? Malaysia Has Allowed for it, Even Before Singapore~
Last month, the news that Singaporean employers will now be able to grant certain workers the right to work from home. This was due to an introduction of a “formal process” for Singaporean employees to request for flexible work arrangements starting from December 2024, by virtue of the new guideline that resulted from the Tripartite Workgroup on Flexible Work Arrangements.
This has caused some Malaysians to complain why Malaysian law has not been amended to allow the same over here. Indeed, many are unaware that Malaysia has already allowed working from home since 2023…but under certain preconditions.
Our Employment Act 1955 saw several pivotal amendments in recent years. The latest spate of amendments, effective from 1st January 2023, saw the insertion of Section 60P and Section 60Q which allowed “flexible working arrangements”.
This means that employees can request for not only working from home and/or other alternative locations, but also flexible work hours and flexible days of work.
According to the new sections, in order to apply for flexible working arrangements, the employee must first submit a request that is in written form, and the employer must then either approve or refuse in writing within 60 days, giving reasons if the decision was to refuse.
Of course, making such a request is no guarantee that you will be allowed to work from home. But in the event of a rejection, the employer must at least give valid reasons for doing so.
Learn more: https://says.com/my/lifestyle/steven-sim-malaysian-employees-have-right-flexible-work?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1rtz014JgewFmJgefpH5NYx6F9B9R8_34kCuflu_ygTbzRp3477IyleF0_aem_AdCxzovj62M1k4EZQSR01h2NCdV1tSTseXgyUdDFX8RsqQbDq6s_Mb-1aWhxA2q8KQ9ohFJd3WaHYFPfVioUGJqM