Malaysia: Amendments to the Employment Act 1955 will take effect as of 1 September 2022

published on 28 June 2022 | reading time approx. 1 minute

The Human Resources Minister recently announced that the amendments to the Employment Act 1955 will take effect as of 1 September 2022. The Ministry of Human Resources will be issuing an order amending the First Schedule of the Act. This is to clarify the categories of employees that will be falling within the purview of the new amendments.

We previously wrote about the key amendments to the Employment Act 1955 (“Act”). However, at the time there were no indications yet when these amendments will be effective.

The Human Resources Minister has now recently announced that the amendments of the Act will take effect as of 1 September 2022. The Ministry of Human Resources will be issuing an order amending the First Schedule of the Act. This is to clarify the categories of employees that will be falling within the purview of these new amendments.

Currently, the Act under the First Schedule provides protection for employees falling under the below categories:

Employees whose monthly salary does not exceed RM2,000;
Employees who are engaged in manual labor, regardless of salary;
Employees engaged in the operation or maintenance of mechanically propelled vehicles;
Employees who supervise or oversee other employees engaged in manual labor;
Employees engaged in any capacity on a vessel (subject to certain other conditions);
Employees engaged as a domestic servant.

Conclusion

As the implementation and effective date of the amendments are around the corner, employers are strongly encouraged to revisit their employment governance, in particular the employee handbooks and employment contracts to ensure compliance with the much awaited amendments.