Should Federal Territory Employers Provide an Extra Public Holiday?

Due to the overlap between the Chinese New Year public holiday and Federal Territory Day, private sector employees in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Labuan should be awarded an additional day of paid public holiday on February 3.

The additional paid public holiday is subject to Section 60D(1)(b)(ii) of the Employment Act 1955, according to the Department of Labour of Peninsular Malaysia (JTK).

If any of the public holidays listed in paragraphs (a) and (b) fall on one of the public holidays listed in paragraphs (a) and (b), the next working day after the public holiday is assumed to be a paid public holiday in lieu of the first public holiday, according to Act 265.

According to the JTK, employers who do not list Chinese New Year as a public holiday are only required to provide a paid public holiday for Federal Territory Day.

The Chinese New Year celebrations this year will take place on February 1 and 2, coinciding with Federal TerritoryDay on February 1.

Federal Territory Day, according to the department, is a paid public holiday that must be observed by employers whose place of business is in the Federal Territory, as required by Section 60D(1)(a)(iii) of Act 265.

If the employer chooses and lists Chinese New Year as a public holiday under Section 60D(1)(a) of Act 265, the employer must likewise honour it.

Human Resources Ministry's statement

According to the Ministry of Human Resources' social media page, this year’s Chinese New Year celebration falls on 1 and 2 February 2022 which is also Federal Territory Day. Federal Territory Day is a paid public holiday that must be taken by employers whose place of employment is located in the Federal Territory as provided under Section 60D(1)(a)(iii) of Act 265. 

If the employer selected and listed the Chinese New Year as a public holiday under Section 60D(1)(a) of the Employment Act 1955, the employer must also honour it.

As these two public holidays overlap on 1 February 2022, then, an additional day of public leave shall be given by the employer to the employee as provided in the proviso to Section 60D(1)(b)(ii) of Act 265 that any other public holiday referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b), the working day following immediately the rest day or the other public holiday shall be a paid holiday in substitution of the first mentioned public holiday.

Therefore, all private sector employers located in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, or Labuan must provide an additional day of paid public leave to employees on 3 February 2022.

However, employers who do not list the Chinese New Year celebration as a public holiday will only need to provide a paid public holiday for Federal Territory Day.

Ministry of Human Resources' statement. Source

What Section 60D(1) of Act 265 says

Holidays

60D. (1) Every employee shall be entitled to a paid holiday at his ordinary rate of pay on the following days in any one calendar year:

(a) on eleven of the gazetted public holidays, five of which shall be—

(i) the National Day;

(ii) the Birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong;

(iii) the Birthday of the Ruler or the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, as the case may be, of the State in which the employee wholly or mainly works under his contract of service, or the Federal Territory Day, if the employee wholly or mainly works in the Federal Territory;

(iv) the Workers’ Day; and

(v) Malaysia Day; and

(b) on any day appointed as a public holiday for that particular year under section 8 of the Holidays Act 1951 [Act 369]:

Provided that if any of the public holidays referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) falls on—

(i) a rest day; or

(ii) any other public holiday referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b),

the working day following immediately the rest day or the other public holiday shall be a paid holiday in substitution of the first mentioned public holiday.

Source: Employment Act 1955