Flexible Working Arrangements: What employers should include in a Flexible Working Policy and other recommended documents

Marcus van Geyzel1 Comment

Pursuant to changes contained in the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 (“the Amendment Act”), which the government has announced will come into force on 1 September 2022, employees in Malaysia will be allowed to apply to their employer for a Flexible Working Arrangement (“FWA”). (For a more comprehensive look at the changes under the Amendment Act, read my earlier article: “Malaysia Employment Act amendments: 7 key changes for employers to note”)

The introduction of FWAs under the Amendment Act is the first time that FWAs have been formally recognised in Malaysia, and may be the first of many such changes — the government has also shared that it is conducting studies on the feasibility of a four-day working week. Malaysian employers can expect FWAs to become more commonplace in the near future, and must start preparing now. Several of my clients are already putting in place the necessary flexible working policies and other related documents to not only ensure that they are not caught unprepared come the 1st of September, but also to lay the foundations for the anticipated changes in the next couple of years.

This article sets out the essential points that need to be covered in a Flexible Working Policy, and also other recommended administrative/HR documents that employers should strongly consider putting into place to smoothly accommodate FWAs.

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Case Update: A Second Judicial Management Order – Extending JM Past 12 Months

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The High Court in Syed Ibrahim & Co v Trans Fame Offshore Sdn Bhd [2022] MLJU 1380 (grounds of judgment dated 16 June 2022) involved the Court granting a second judicial management order. In effect, this allowed for the company to be under judicial management even past the initial 12-month period of the first judicial management order.

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Malaysia passes Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill with very minor amendments, despite widespread criticism

Marcus van Geyzel1 Comment

Malaysia’s Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) has passed the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill 2021, despite unaddressed concerns of significant shortcomings in the Bill.

The Bill was initially tabled for its first reading in December 2021 (Read our previous post: “Malaysia’s Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill tabled in Parliament”). It was then withdrawn from a second reading earlier in 2022, with the government indicating that it would be significantly reviewed following robust feedback received from various parties. Unfortunately, the Bill which was passed this week only had very minor amendments from the first draft.

Due to the limited revisions made from the first draft, our summary of the Bill published in December 2021 is still mostly accurate: https://themalaysianlawyer.com/2021/12/15/anti-sexual-harassment-bill/

These are the material changes in the updated version of the Bill:

  1. A new Clause 7(3) is included, introducing a limitation period for sexual harassment complaints: “A complaint referred to the Tribunal under this Act is subject to the Limitation Act 1953.”
  2. While the original version provided that parties at the hearing of a sexual harassment complaint cannot be represented by an advocate and solicitor, this has been revised [at Clause 13(2)] to provide that legal representation will be allowed if “in the opinion of the Tribunal, the matter in question involves complex issues of law”. The revisions also provide that if one party is allowed to represented by an advocate and solicitor, then the other party will also be so entitled.

With these very limited changes, it appears that the concerns raised by numerous rights organisations who had hoped for “a meticulous review of the Bill” have been left unheard. Time will tell whether the new long-awaited law will be comprehensive enough to protect the rights and wellbeing of sexual harassment victims.

Inns of Court Malaysia Webinar: Judicial Management and Corporate Rescue

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The Inns of Court Malaysia will be holding another instalment of its flagship event, the ICM Legal Education Series. This webinar is on Friday 22 July 2022 at 4pm. Registration is required. The event is free for Inns of Court Malaysia members and RM50 for non-members.

This talk is titled Judicial Management and Corporate Rescue: Balancing the Rescue of Distressed Companies and the Rights of Creditors.

You may download the poster for email registration or sign up via the Google Forms link. Continue reading →

Case Update: Court of Appeal Rules Against Scomi Group Judicial Management Appeal

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Today, the Court of Appeal dismissed Scomi Group Bhd’s appeal against the High Court decision dismissing its judicial management application.

As set out earlier, the High Court had ruled on two points when dismissing the judicial management application of Scomi Group Bhd, being a listed company. Continue reading →

Confirmed: New Minimum Wages Order effective 1 May 2022; employers with less than 5 employees exempted

Marcus van Geyzel2 Comments

The widely-anticipated Minimum Wages Order 2022 (“the Order”) was gazetted on 27 April 2022. The Order, pursuant to section 23 of the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011, increases the minimum wage nationwide to RM1,500 from 1 May 2022. There is a temporary exemption until 31 December 2022 from the increase for employers with less than five employees.

Further details of the Order are set out below.

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