Here's An All-You-Need-To-Know Guide For Maternity And Paternity Leave In Malaysia
Employers are not allowed to outright refuse maternity or paternity leave to eligible employees
Published for Employment Hero, 27 Nov 2023, 10:57 AM
In case you missed it, the government has implemented changes for maternity and paternity leave in the country, taking effect since 1 January 2023
Maternity leave is typically granted to the biological or adoptive mother who has given birth or is about to give birth. Paternity leave, on the other hand, is granted to fathers or partners of individuals who have given birth, recognising the importance of a father's involvement in the early stages of parenting.
The Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 states that the minimum period of paid maternity leave in Malaysia is 98 consecutive days. This is an increase from the previous 60 days, and it reflects a change from the initial proposal of 90 days. On the other hand, paternity leave is now seven days.
When female employees are on maternity leave, they are entitled to maternity allowance, a.k.a. their regular monthly salary
Employers are required to pay maternity allowance to an employee, if she has been employed for:
- At least 90 days during the nine months immediately before her confinement or- She has been employed at any time in the four months immediately before her confinement
However, not all employees who are in their maternity phase are eligible for the allowance. If a female employee has more than five children, she is not entitled to any maternity allowance at the time of her confinement.
Based on the Employment Act, a female employee is required to notify her employer of the expected confinement period and maternity leave start date within 60 days prior. If not, the employee may lose her entitlement to receive the maternity leave.
As for fathers, paternity leave is no longer a nice-to-have, but something the government requires employers to provide
Although there was no statutory requirement previously for employers in Malaysia to provide paternity leave to new fathers, thanks to the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022, married male employees are now entitled to seven days of paid paternity leave, which must be taken consecutively.
Here are the criteria for a married male employee to be eligible for paternity leave:
- Employed by the same employer at least 12 months immediately before the commencement of such paternity leave- Have notified his employer of his spouse's pregnancy at least 30 days from the expected confinement or as early as possible after the birth
Employers are not allowed to outright refuse maternity or paternity leave to eligible employees
The Employment Act now covers all employees, regardless of wages — which means that maternity and paternity leave are statutory provisions that employers must provide to employees. These are protected rights that help support the wellbeing of employees.
If an employer were to refuse maternity or paternity leave to an eligible employee without proper justification, that would be in gross violation of labour laws, and could potentially lead to legal issues, complaints, or disputes.
Furthermore, employers may not terminate a pregnant employee or give her a notice of termination of employment, except on these grounds:
- A wilful breach of a condition of the contract of service
- Misconduct
- Closure of the employer’s business
For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as HR managers, managing employees with maternity or paternity leave can be challenging
From figuring out leave start dates and end dates, to making sure you have all the necessary documentations, leave management can end up becoming a work stressor. Not to mention, employees may also apply for other kinds of leave like shared parental leave, adoption leave, compassionate leave, and more, which could make it hard to keep track of their leave entitlements and dates.
But this is where Employment Hero can come in to do all that and more for your business!
Employment Hero is an all-in-one employment solution for businesses with big ambitions. This software manages your team at every stage from interviews, onboarding, right through to offboarding. All you need is a great HR software that does the work for you while you reap the benefits of structure, efficiency, and productivity.
Don't worry about being short-staffed or losing leave requests any more, because Employment Hero has got your back
With their platform, employers will be notified whenever someone from their team applies for leave.
They will be able to see all their team's leave requests in a calendar view, check every employee's leave balance, approve or decline requests with automatic notifications to their employees, and have a central digital record of all employee leave documents.
Both employers and employees can enjoy self-service functionality by using this platform
They no longer have to wait for their bosses to be in the office to request leaves, as they can just do it themselves from their desktop or smartphones.
Besides applying for leaves, they can also attach their medical certificates, view their leave balances, and even check their status of leave applications and requests.
Find out more about what Employment Hero can do to simplify your HR processes today on their website!
This article originally appeared on Employment Hero, with rights to be republished on SAYS.
