Pregnant mothers-to-be, take note! If your boss tries to fire you because you want to take 90 days maternity leave, then immediately report them!
Source: Gulf Business
According to MMO, during Budget 2018, our Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that the amount of maternity leave for both the public and private sector would be increased from 60 days to 90 days, much to the joy of women in Malaysia. Yay to spending more time with your baby!
However, if your boss disagrees with giving you those 90 days off, then they can actually be investigated and prosecuted for it. Deputy Minister of Human Resources Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Muttalib said that this action was in accordance to the Federal Constitution, which means that everyone is entitled to equal rights including employment.
Source: NST
He explained, “Although there is no specific clause stating that private sector employers cannot terminate the service of a female worker for taking 90 days maternity leave, we have to uphold the principle law which is the Federal Constitution. Employers cannot terminate the service of female workers when they become pregnant; these women have contributed much to help their companies to thrive.”
He urges female employees to come forward and report the matter if they ever encountered any similar incident and the ministry will launch an investigation. The proposed 90-day maternity leave will reportedly be executed in two phases, where the first part will be conducting consultations with stakeholders for their feedback.
Source: The Star
The second phase would move on to making amendments to the existing laws, which include Section 37 of the Employment Act 1995, Section 83 of the Sabah Labour Ordinance Chapter 67 and Section 84 of the Sarawak Labour Ordinance Chapter 76.
In addition, our PM had previously suggested that they are considering giving women a one-year tax exemption to ease their burden if they had taken a career break for more than two years. He said that this is because he valued women and considered them to be the backbone of family prosperity and national development.
Tell your boss, “Minister say one!” if they don’t allow you to take 90 days maternity leave, okay!
Also read: Budget 2018: PTPTN Borrowers Get 20% Discount If Fully Settle the Loan
