PETALING JAYA: The amendment on flexible working hours under the Employment Act does not force employers to implement it but instead offers incentives to increase workers’ productivity, says human resources minister V Sivakumar.
He said that it is entirely up to the employers whether or not to implement the system.
“With the flexible working hours amendment to the Employment Act 1955, it just becomes a legal form of incentive. However, there is no compulsion. It is meant to be an improvement to the system and the way we work in this country.
“Not everyone can follow the same working hours. For example, there are some who cannot work from 8am till 5pm due to matters such as family obligations, which may see them being late to work and having to work late hours too”, Berita Harian reported.
Sivakumar also said employers are encouraged to implement flexible working hours so that employees could clock in and out at different times, as long as they worked for a fixed number of hours each day.
“We want them to work for a fixed period of time per day. So, what is the issue if they can work for the required number of hours even if they do not follow the fixed schedule?” he added.
Yesterday, Sivakumar was reported as saying that the human resources ministry will focus on the amendment to the Employment Act that touches on the flexible working hours, among other matters.
The amendment to the Act was supposed to take effect on Sept 1. However, it was postponed to Jan 1 next year following requests from employers and industries who said they needed more time as most companies were still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/12/18/no-compulsion-on-flexible-working-hours-up-to-employers-says-minister/