Wednesday, 08 Apr 2020 04:15 PM MYT
However, the FAQs issued by MOHR seemed to suggest that employers may offer their employees to take unpaid or half-paid leave throughout the MCO period, with the agreement of both parties. For companies that are left with no choice but to exercise retrenchment, several steps must be taken before employees can be made redundant, such as reducing work hours, freezing new recruitment and limiting overtime work.
The WSP however comes with a catch — employers are not allowed to exercise retrenchment or cut their employees’ pay for three months after the WSP. For example, if an employer applied for WSP from May 2020, the employer must keep paying the full salaries of its employees throughout the implementation of WSP from May to July, and also the subsequent three months from August to October.
While retrenchment should be the last resort, Malaysian laws generally allow wage reduction, unpaid leave and/or reduction in working hours, provided they are done in good faith to prevent retrenchment. These measures may only be implemented after consultation and perhaps, with the consent of employees. Having both employers and employees showing empathy towards one another may be the key for companies to brave through this unprecedented storm.