HR Minister urges Malaysia employers to give vaccination leave

Datuk Seri M. Saravanan noted that the Government cannot declare a special holiday in this case as the vaccinations are carried out on different days.

As reported in Bernama, Malaysia's Ministry of Human Resources agrees that employers should grant employees leave to take their COVID-19 vaccination. This would give more Malaysians the confidence to get vaccinated and allay their fears. 

However, Minister of Human Resources, Datuk Seri M. Saravanan (pictured above) noted that the Government cannot declare a special holiday in this case as the vaccinations are carried out on different days. This announcement, shared in Bernama, was made after the Minister attended the launch of Functional Adaptive Clothing by Social Security Organisation (SOCSO). 

Soon after this notification, MEF President Dato’ Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman J.P. shared a statement urging private sector employers to provide employees time off to be inoculated. "As responsible employers, we must support the NIP in any way we can as the safety and health of our employees is a paramount concern. MEF strongly encourages private sector employers to educate their employees by creating awareness on the benefits of Covid-19 vaccination, and also to allow employees to take time off work to get the jab."

He added: "But whether the employer grants paid leave to the employee should remain the discretion of the employer and not be made compulsory. MEF would like to propose to the government to allow employers to send their employees to vaccination centres in batches to facilitate transport arrangements and other logistics."

Dato’ Dr Syed Hussain affirmed that the government would not declare a special holiday for this purpose as the vaccinations would not be carried out on the same day. "Furthermore, one day of paid leave would cost private sector employers in Malaysia about RM904 million,” he added.

Photo / SOCSO

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