The Recent Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021 and its Potential Effect on the Employment Relationship

On 30 March 2022, the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021 (“Amended Bill”) was passed in Dewan Negara (Senate).

At the outset, before diving into the issues, it is important to first understand the present status of the Amended Bill.

To put things in context, laws are introduced to Parliament as bills and can be introduced either before the Dewan Rakyat or the Dewan Negara. This is referred to as “tabling a Bill”. After the Bill is tabled, it must go through three stages of reading.

In this connection, the fact that the Amended Bill was approved by the Dewan Negara on 30 March 2022 does not mean that all the provisions listed in the Amended Bill have come into force, since the legislative process will be completed only after the Yang di–Pertuan Agong assents to the Amended Bill becoming law (“Royal Assent Bill”). The law will take effect on the date specified in the Government Gazette, however, there is currently no indication when this will occur.

Having said that, we will now consider the key changes and concerns that may arise because of the amended provisions encapsulated in the recent Amended Bill which has been approved by the Dewan Negara.

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