KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) thinks that fathers should be given the option to share maternity leave entitlement with their spouses.

The Star reported today that MEF President Datuk Syed Hussain Syed Husman proposed the arrangement saying that in some other countries, “Spouses, upon mutual consent, have the option to allocate a portion of the wife’s maternity leave to the husband.”

This would be a cost savings to employers, which MEF argues costs around RM36.92 million for a single father to take just one day of paternity leave and that cost would theoretically balloon to RM258.45 million should fathers choose to take a full week of paternity leave.

The MEF also believes that the current mandated seven days of paid paternity leave does not need to be extended.

Since the private sector bears the full expense of 98 days of maternity leave (around RM2.47 billion per year), the MEF argues, in addition to the theoretical RM258.45 million for paternity leave, then perhaps it is time the Social Security Organisation (Socso) and Employment Insurance System (EIS) cover leave instead of burdening private sector employers.

Currently Malaysian labour law entitles female employees to 98 days of paid maternity leave, that can start 30 days before the expected delivery date and male employees will be eligible for 7 days of paid paternity leave but only if they are legally married to the mother of the newborn and has been working with an employer for at least 12 months.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/08/16/mef-proposes-that-instead-of-extending-paternity-leave-fathers-should-share-their-wives-maternity-leave/147178