Chapter 5: Holidays and Leave

Chapter 5: Holidays and Leave

• Rest Day: Employees must be granted one rest day per week.
• Multiple rest days per week: If an employee is allowed more than one rest day per week, the last of those days is the rest day.
• Shift work rest days: A continuous period of at least 30 hours constitutes a rest day for shift workers.
• Roster preparation: Employers must create a roster detailing rest days before the start of the relevant month.
• Roster display: Instead of a roster, employers can display a notice indicating the fixed rest day for all employees in the workplace.
• Roster retention: Rosters and recorded information must be kept for at least six years.
• No compulsion to work on rest days: No employee can be forced to work on a rest day, except in situations where the work's nature requires continuous work or operation by two or more shifts.
• Dispute resolution: In cases of dispute, the Director General has the power to determine whether or not an employee's work requires continuous operations or multiple shifts.
• Banking services as essential service: Court ruled that bank workers can perform duties on rest days as banking services are considered essential services.
• Pay for rest day work: Employees working on a rest day, paid by the day, hour, or similar rate are paid their regular rate for up to half their normal work hours.
• Pay for rest day work - Example: If a worker's daily wage is RM30 and normal work hours are 8 am to 4 pm, and the worker works from 8 am to 12 pm on a rest day, they are paid RM30.
• Pay for rest day work exceeding half hours: If the duration of work exceeds half the normal hours, the employee is paid two days' wages at the original rate of pay. For instance, if a worker works from 8 am to 4 pm, and their salary is RM30/day, and they work from 8 am to 12 pm, the daily wages would be RM60.
• Pay who is on monthly/weekly rate: Employees on monthly or weekly pay, who work on a rest day for less than half their normal working hours, are paid half of their daily wage. For instance, a worker earns RM650/month, which is RM25/day, and works from 8 am to 12 pm, the rate is RM12.50.
• Pay for rest day work exceeding normal hours: For any work exceeding normal hours on a rest day, the worker is paid 2x the hourly rate.
• Piece-rate employees on rest days: Piece-rate employees are paid double their standard rate per piece if they work on a rest day.

Public Holiday

• Paid holidays: Employees are entitled to paid holidays on eleven gazetted holidays annually.
• Employer choice of extra holidays: Employers may choose to include an additional six holidays for their employees.
• Notice of public holidays: Employers should display a notice of remaining public holidays before the beginning of the calendar year.
• Public holidays falling on rest days: If a public holiday falls on a rest day, the next day is considered a public holiday.
• Substitutable holidays: Employees can mutually agree to substitute one public holiday with another day.

Annual Leave

• Length of annual leave: Depends on the employee's length of service.
• Workers with less than 2 years' service: 8 days per year
• Workers with 2-5 years' service: 12 days per year
• Workers with more than 5 years' seniority: 16 days per year
• Required application: Employees must apply for annual leave.
• Failure to apply for annual leave: If an employee fails to apply, they forfeit the leave.
• Rejection of annual leave application: If an application is rejected, the employee is still entitled to be paid for the leave that was not taken.
• Termination of employment: Employees are entitled to their owed annual leave upon termination, even if it is before the leave has been utilized.

Sick Leave

• Paid sick leave: Employees are eligible for paid sick leave after a medical examination and certification.
• Medical examination requirement: Before taking sick leave, employees must be examined by a panel doctor designated by the employer and get a medical report stating they are unfit for work; but if it is an emergency, a non-panel doctor's certification can be accepted.
• Leave notification: Sick leave must be notified to the employer within 48 hours of starting the leave.
• Sick leave without notification: Employees who do not notify their employer within 48 hours of commencing sick leave will be considered as unauthorized absence.
• Length of sick leave: The duration of sick leave depends on the years of service. Less than 2 years: 14 days/year. 2-5 years: 18 days/year. 5+ years: 22 days/year

Paternity Leave

• Entitlement to paternity leave: Male employees are entitled to paid paternity leave for a period of seven consecutive days per confinement.
• Limit to paternity leave: Paternity leave is restricted to five confinements.
• Conditions for paternity leave: Employees must meet the conditions, which is 12 months of employment with the same firm and to notify the company of the expected delivery of the spouse at least 30 days before or as soon as possible after the pregnancy.