Analysing Working from Home Provisions in the Amended Employment Act 1955 and Lessons from the UK

Abstract

The Employment Act 1955 (EA 1955) has undergone a recent change that has added new rules pertaining to flexible working arrangements (FWA) in Malaysia. This could be seen by some employee groups as an appropriate legal response to their demands for the ability to work from home (WFH). But it's unclear how well-founded this viewpoint is and how much the new laws and regulations will have an impact on WFH settings. Thus, the purpose of this research is to examine the idea of WFH, which is included in FWA models, as well as the extent to which the current legal framework—basically, the new statutory requirements included in the EA 1955—regulates employees' ability to request WFH. Drawing a concise comparison with laws and practices in the UK, the aim is to identify commendable practices, enabling the formulation of recommendations to enhance the local legislations. This paper is a doctrinal legal research that critically analyse both legal sources and non-legal sources to investigate the intended objectives. The study reveals that, as of now, there is no clear direction regarding the overall regulatory framework concerning FWA and WFH in Malaysia. This lack of clarity is attributed to the recent enforcement of laws on FWA, specifically WFH, since January 1, 2023. Notably, supplementary regulations complementing the existing provisions in the EA 1955 have yet to be introduced. Consequently, the actual impact of the law remains inconspicuous. Moreover, the existing statutory provisions are considered relatively vague potentially leading to various issues. The research further found that, good practices and legal provisions from UK jurisdiction in governing the right of employees to request WFH arrangement would have offered useful guidelines in enhancing the practices and governance of the WFH model.