The employment law stipulates that female employees in Malaysia are entitled for 60 days of maternity leave. Say for example upon delivering baby, a woman decides to quit her job. Can she resign during her maternity leave?
The answer is yes, she can.
Let’s say this female employee works as a senior account executive with a multinational company. The employment letter indicates that in case of resignation, she is to serve a resignation period of 3 months (for instance).
In this case, she can utilize her two-month maternity leave as her first two months of resignation notice. When she comes back from work, she is required to work for another 1 month to fulfil the 3-month notice obligation. Alternatively, she can choose to pay the 1 month in lieu of the early (1 month) notice. This means that she will no longer have to come back to work.
The legality of this is covered under the Employment Act 1955, Section 12 (1) that permits a woman employee to terminate her contract of service and serve the resignation period that may include her maternity leave.
Other posts you may want to read:
- Resignation Letter (24 Hours Notice)
- Maternity Leave Right of Employees
- Australians Fighting Over Maternity Leave
- Resignation Letter Sample (Short Notice)
- Early Maternity Leave for Malaysians
- 7 Common Types of Leaves
- Selangor to Offer 90 Days Maternity Leave
- How to Resign from Job, Gracefully
