Maternity leave has now been extended from 90 days to 98 days, while paternity leave has also been extended from 3 days to 7 days.
Based on a report by Utusan, this comes after the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021 was passed in Dewan Rakyat following a show of support through a vote.
Deputy Minister of Human Resources, Datuk Awang Hashim shared that this amendment aims to provide leeway for men whose wives have given birth, to be more present and able to manage the birth of their child.
“This proposal is also in line with the Divorce Human Resources Services Circular SR.5.4.2, which emphasizes the concept of prioritising family,”
“Through this amendment, male workers in the private sector will also enjoy the same benefits as civil servants,” he said.
He went on to add that granting paternity leave to men is important to ‘calm the still-unstable emotions of the wife‘, on top of their role as husband and father who is responsible for taking care of their families.
“The Ministry of Human Resources believes that married male employees should be given paternity leave so that they can celebrate the birth of their child with their wives, take care of their wives and newborn babies and complete certain matters such as child registration.”
While paternity leaves are only given to married male employees, it is not limited to only 1 wife.
“This leave is only for male employees who are married to their spouses, have worked 12 months with the same employer and must inform the employer 30 days before the wife gives birth. This leave can be taken from the day the wife gives birth,” he explained.
Stay tuned for more updates!
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