About Employment Legislation, Tensions, and Upskilling: HR News Roundup for December 2022
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Amendments to Malaysia’s Employment Act to Come Into Force on January 2023, No More Deferments
- Glassdoor’s Word of the Year Reflects Employer-Employee Tensions
- Indonesian Graduates Lack Marketable Skills: Minister
- Singapore Raises Foreign Worker Quota
- Upskilling the Number One Priority for Human Resources Minister
It’s been a rollercoaster year for HR. As we close out 2022, here are the top HR stories from Malaysia and beyond for December.
Image credit: Bernama
Amendments to Malaysia’s Employment Act to Come Into Force on January 2023, No More Deferments
Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar has announced that the amendments to the country’s Employment Act 1955 will come into force on 1 January 2023, despite calls from employers to postpone it to 2024.
"The enforcement of the amendments to the Act must proceed as planned as it was already passed in Parliament, with most of the amendments being based on the International Labour Organization (ILO) convention," he told a press conference.
Key amendments include the extension of maternity leave from 60 days to 98 days, reduced weekly working hours from 48 to 45 hours, and seven-day paternity leave for married male employees.
Glassdoor’s Word of the Year Reflects Employer-Employee Tensions
It’s been an unprecedented year for both employers as well as employees, and Glassdoor’s word of the year reflects that. ‘Return-to-office’ is Glassdoor’s word of the year in the United States, with the share of all US-based employee reviews in 2022 mentioning ‘RTO’ doubling (+122 percent) since 2021.
Since the Omicron variant has eased, employers eagerly began calling workers back into the office. But with stronger bargaining power and inflation top of mind for many employees, many were willing to part ways for better pay, perks and flexibility.
With this in mind, ‘return-to-office’ was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews from employees. When analyzing employee discussions on their company’s RTO policies, it is clear that employees want autonomy in choosing what type of work is best for them and clear communication from their employers when making decisions about how they work.
Image credit: Ministry of Manpower
Indonesian Graduates Lack Marketable Skills: Minister
Indonesian Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah said that the country’s labour market faces the challenge of unemployed graduates.
The domestic market is dominated by junior high school graduates and lower-level graduates, while there is a high unemployment rate among university graduates.
“Unemployment among higher education graduates is because it doesn't meet the needs of the market,” Ida said at the Indonesia Economic Outlook 2023. She also said that the Manpower Ministry will emphasize vocational training and education to tackle this issue.
Singapore Raises Foreign Worker Quota
Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has launched a new scheme for firms to temporarily hire foreign workers above their quota.
The Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP) scheme allows qualifying firms to obtain additional S Pass and Work Permit quotas of up to 5% above their base workforce headcount, subject to a cap of 50 workers per firm.
To qualify, firms must also commit to employ and/or train locals, as well as participate in programmes in line with Singapore’s strategy to innovate and internationalize.
Upskilling the Number One Priority for Human Resources Minister
In a poll conducted by BrioHR on LinkedIn, a majority of respondents want the new Minister for Human Resources of Malaysia, V. Sivakumar to focus on workforce upskilling. This result puts upskilling ahead of other priorities, such as implementing fair working standards or addressing an ongoing labour shortage.
Benjamin Croc, co-founder and CEO of BrioHR said, “The survey results show that the need for workforce upskilling and reskilling has never been greater. Working professionals are hoping that the government will enact policies encouraging employers to consider upskilling their current workforce to fill skill gaps rather than incurring the expense and time commitment of hiring new employees.”
"For many, the pandemic was also an opportunity to rethink their working methods and careers, as well as how supported they felt at work. The Great Resignation could be explained, at least in part, by people seeking better opportunities; a better work-life balance in addition to a higher pay cheque," shared Croc.
He added that in order to make Malaysia more resilient, capable, and inclusive, a redefined HR approach is needed to ensure that organisations have an updated workforce with skills that enable them to invest in new and better technologies.
Learn how BrioHR can simplify HR for your business by getting a free demo here.
It’s been a rollercoaster year for HR. As we close out 2022, here are the top HR stories from Malaysia and beyond for December.
Amendments to Malaysia’s Employment Act to Come Into Force on January 2023, No More Deferments
Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar has announced that the amendments to the country’s Employment Act 1955 will come into force on 1 January 2023, despite calls from employers to postpone it to 2024.
“The enforcement of the amendments to the Act must proceed as planned as it was already passed in Parliament, with most of the amendments being based on the International Labour Organization (ILO) convention,” he told a press conference.
Key amendments include the extension of maternity leave from 60 days to 98 days, reduced weekly working hours from 48 to 45 hours, and seven-day paternity leave for married male employees.
Glassdoor’s Word of the Year Reflects Employer-Employee Tensions
It’s been an unprecedented year for both employers as well as employees, and Glassdoor’s word of the year reflects that. ‘Return-to-office’ is Glassdoor’s word of the year in the United States, with the share of all US-based employee reviews in 2022 mentioning ‘RTO’ doubling (+122 percent) since 2021.
Since the Omicron variant has eased, employers eagerly began calling workers back into the office. But with stronger bargaining power and inflation top of mind for many employees, many were willing to part ways for better pay, perks and flexibility.
With this in mind, ‘return-to-office’ was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews from employees. When analyzing employee discussions on their company’s RTO policies, it is clear that employees want autonomy in choosing what type of work is best for them and clear communication from their employers when making decisions about how they work.
Indonesian Graduates Lack Marketable Skills: Minister
Indonesian Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah said that the country’s labour market faces the challenge of unemployed graduates.
The domestic market is dominated by junior high school graduates and lower-level graduates, while there is a high unemployment rate among university graduates.
“Unemployment among higher education graduates is because it doesn’t meet the needs of the market,” Ida said at the Indonesia Economic Outlook 2023. She also said that the Manpower Ministry will emphasize vocational training and education to tackle this issue.
Singapore Raises Foreign Worker Quota
Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has launched a new scheme for firms to temporarily hire foreign workers above their quota.
The Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP) scheme allows qualifying firms to obtain additional S Pass and Work Permit quotas of up to 5% above their base workforce headcount, subject to a cap of 50 workers per firm.
To qualify, firms must also commit to employ and/or train locals, as well as participate in programmes in line with Singapore’s strategy to innovate and internationalize.
Upskilling the Number One Priority for Human Resources Minister
In a poll conducted by BrioHR on LinkedIn, a majority of respondents want the new Minister for Human Resources of Malaysia, V. Sivakumar to focus on workforce upskilling. This result puts upskilling ahead of other priorities, such as implementing fair working standards or addressing an ongoing labour shortage.
Benjamin Croc, co-founder and CEO of BrioHR said, “The survey results show that the need for workforce upskilling and reskilling has never been greater. Working professionals are hoping that the government will enact policies encouraging employers to consider upskilling their current workforce to fill skill gaps rather than incurring the expense and time commitment of hiring new employees.”
“For many, the pandemic was also an opportunity to rethink their working methods and careers, as well as how supported they felt at work. The Great Resignation could be explained, at least in part, by people seeking better opportunities; a better work-life balance in addition to a higher pay cheque,” shared Croc.
He added that in order to make Malaysia more resilient, capable, and inclusive, a redefined HR approach is needed to ensure that organisations have an updated workforce with skills that enable them to invest in new and better technologies.
