The Malaysian Employee’s Guide to Planning Annual Leave in 2022
New amendments to the Employment Act 1955 will come into effect on the 1st of January 2023. Read the full breakdown here.
In the blink of an eye, the end of 2021 is almost upon us. Malaysia has now begun to move towards the endemic phase of COVID-19, and employees are finally beginning to return to the office — and some form of normalcy in life as a whole.
And with interstate borders opening in Malaysia, many Malaysians are (again) finally set to travel again. Plus, it’s also that time of the year again, where employees are now looking ahead of 2022 as they plan their vacations and annual leave ahead of time — which is always encouraged in order to ensure that there is minimal disruption to the business.
As part of our series of free HR guides, we’ve talked about the various types of leave entitlements for employees in Malaysia, while covering the end-to-end of maternity leave, and even what to do with your unused annual leave. Today, let’s talk about something a little lighter: How to plan your annual leave for 2022 for employees in Malaysia.
First: Why you should use up your Annual Leave entitlement
Leave entitlements, be it annual, medical, or even maternity leave, are a part and parcel of most employment contracts in Malaysia. Meanwhile, for employees that are covered by the Employment Act 1955, statutory leave entitlements are provided for — which basically means that they are mandatory requirements by law.
Regardless of this, annual leave is a chance for employees to take a step back from work, and to recharge. In the fast-paced world that we live in today — coupled with the pandemic — it’s crucial for employees to take time off work to handle personal matters, spend time with their families — or simply, to rest. This benefits both employers and employees, with studies showing that employee well-being has a direct impact on performance and productivity.
Depending on your employer’s policies, you may also be able to carry forward a portion of your unused annual leave allocation to the following year. And for certain companies, you’ll also be given the option to encash your unutilised leave days, although again, this is subject to respective company policy.
For more information on this, read our guide to unused annual leave here.
Malaysian Public Holidays in 2022
Most savvy employees are probably already aware that you can get the most out of your annual leave entitlements by using them to extend long weekends, or public holidays in Malaysia. According to Section 60D of the Employment Act 1955, every employee shall be entitled to a paid holiday on eleven gazetted public holidays in Malaysia.
These include the obvious, such as Independence Day (Hari Merdeka), the birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and Malaysia Day, along with other ad-hoc public holidays (such as celebrations for sporting achievements). If these gazetted public holidays fall on a rest day, a replacement day off shall be granted on the next working day for employees covered by the Employment Act.
Now, to help you get the most out of your leave planning for 2022, we’ve shared a comprehensive list of public holidays in Malaysia — along with individual breakdowns of days off for respective states.
Public Holidays in Malaysia
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Using altHR to keep track of leave — through 2022, and beyond
Keeping track of leave allowances for employees can be a challenging process for employers and employees alike — but it doesn’t have to be.
Digi’s super app, altHR, can help with this. The Leaves module (one of the most popular features on the app) is a comprehensive tool that helps to keep track of your employees leave allocations, requests, and policies.
As employers, you’ll even be able to handle the more complex aspects of leave policies, such as the different entitlements for different groups of employees based on tenure with the company, marital status, levels, carry-forward balances, replacement leave policy, and even leave reports. And of course, all of that works seamlessly with the other modules in the new normal, such as Documents, Expense and Payroll Management.
HR professionals are often faced with repetitive, manual, and often time-consuming tasks on a daily basis — tasks that have become even more difficult to handle in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation.
But help is available, if you know where to look. We’ll be able to streamline your HR processes by managing and automating day-to-day tasks, so you won’t have to worry about things like paperwork, privacy concerns, time-tracking, or onboarding challenges.
Sign up for altHR, the all-in-one digital solution that covers everything from payroll and onboarding, to staff management and providing employees with information kits. You’ve done it the old way long enough.
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