When Do Amendments to the Employment Act 1955 Come Into Force?

Disclaimer: This article should not be considered to be legal advice, and altHR is not liable for any actions taken based on this article.

Amendments to the Employment Act 1955 were initially set to come into force on the 1st of September 2022 — the date of this article. If you’re still confused about the actual changes that will affect you (and your colleagues/employees), you can click here for an easy-to-understand breakdown. 

There appears to be a certain amount of confusion about the deadline for HR managers and employers when it comes to executing some of these changes, however. What’s the difference between the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021, the Employment Act 1955, and the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022? 

To help HR managers and employers figure things out, here’s a quick breakdown of what you need to know.

Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021 vs Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 vs Employment Act 1955

For some context, the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021 ws tabled for its “first reading” back in October 2021. A bill is essentially a proposed act; in this case, this was a proposed set of amendments to the Employment Act 1955. 

Meanwhile, the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 is the approved-by-Parliament Act that spells out the amendments to the original Act: the Employment Act 1955. However, it’s important to understand that the Employment Act 1955 is still the Act that is quoted, and referred to — subject to amendments. 

Are EA 1955 amendments in effect today?

The Minister of Human Resources Datuk Seri Saravanan Murugan’s initially announced that amendments to the EA 1955 would come into effect on the 1st of September 2022 — although this was met with some resistance from employers and HR professionals in Malaysia. 

This was because the announcement was only made back in June 2022, effectively giving employers only 3 months to prepare and implement the changes Many called for a longer grace period due to the significant nature of the changes — which include changes to employees covered by the act, maternity leave, and so on. 

In fact, the President of the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) Syed Hussain Syed Husman called for more time, arguing that the amendments need to be “done right” as employees in the private sector are estimated to amount to over 10 million individuals. 

As such, the HR minister has announced that the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 will come into effect on the 1st of January 2023.

Key amendments to EA 1955

The Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 provides for a number of significant updates to employment law in Malaysia — including provisions for modern work arrangements, paternity leave, and more. These include:

• EA 1955 now covers ALL employees irrespective of wages
• Flexible working arrangements are now provided for in the Act
• Change in maximum working hours for workers
• Increased (paid) maternity leave for mothers
• The introduction of (paid) paternity leave
• Protection for pregnant mothers against termination 
• Gig workers are now protected
• More awareness for sexual harassment 
• Employment of foreign workers 

For the full breakdown, click here for our complete summary.