Kesejahteraan Sosial

01 FAMILY SUPPORT EMPOWERMENT AND WORKPLACE WELL-BEING 17 5.1 Parental Leave Policies Malaysia’s current maternity leave policy for civil servants, as outlined in Public Service Circular 1/2024, provides for fully paid maternity leave of 60 to 90 days per birth, with a cap of 360 days over the employee’s entire period of service. This directive replaces Circular 5/2017 for the public sector. In contrast, in the private sector, the Employment Act 1955 (Act 265, Amendment 2023, Sections 37 and 40) prescribes a fixed maternity leave of 98 days, which is in line with the minimum standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Whilst the flexible offer in the public sector appears progressive, it does not meet the full range of maternal and child health needs, particularly when compared to more generous international models, such as in Norway. No Existing Policy Public Sector Private Sector 1 Maternity leave - 60 to 90 days, fully paid per birth, with a cap of 360 days over the entire service - Fixed maternity leave of 98 days 2 Paternity leave - 20 days of accumulated unrecorded leave per year - Bundled with other unrecorded leaves - 7 days for each confinement - 5 confinements only 3 Flexible working arrangements - 45 hours per week including breaks - schedule working days between 4 to 6 days a week and rest days between 1 to 3 days a week - Flexible working arrangements with varying hours of work, days of work or place of work 4 On-site childcare facilities - Fee subsidies and comprehensive implementation standards governed by Public Sector Circulars - Subsidies vary - Require action at the employer or employee level Table 1 : Malaysia existing policies in public and private sectors