Comparative Study of Existing Employment Regulatory in Malaysia and Selected Common Law Countries

Abstract

There is little doubt that employment turnover has had a significant impact on employee productivity and is acknowledged to be one of the important issues, with various antecedents including minimum employment provisions. However, employee turnover can be managed through effective approaches, such as employment regulatory. This paper compares and analyses existing employment regulatory provisions in Malaysia to study the differences in terms of employment provisions and make suggestions for the future development of Malaysian employment regulatory. This study adopted a qualitative approach through content analysis of the existing employment regulatory requirements in Malaysia and selected common law countries. This paper urges that Malaysian employment requires improvement in its employment provisions. Take, for instance, the construction industry that is characterised by the practice of different working hours which affects employees’ work-life balance. Several weaknesses were identified in this study, namely flexible working arrangements, provision for leave, and other specific employment provisions which meet the industry and occupational demands. This paper recommends improvement of minimum employment regulatory that considers the work-life balance of employees. In addition, specific employment provisions that focus on the industry would benefit all beneficiaries.