16 September 2024 will see an overlap of two holidays: Malaysia Day and the Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday. Given that both events fall on the same public holiday, a question which arises is whether 17 September 2024 will also be granted as an additional paid holiday.
Section 60D(1) of the Employment Act 1955 states that if any one public holiday falls on:
the immediately following working day will be granted as an additional paid holiday.
As Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday is not one of the mandatory holidays to be given under the eleven gazetted public holidays, the treatment accorded to it depends on the contractual terms of employment. If an employee is entitled to paid holiday on all public holidays or the employer typically grants the Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday as a paid holiday, 17 September 2024 should be granted as an additional paid holiday. Alternatively, the employer may substitute the paid holiday on another day of the year pursuant to Section 60D(1A)
2 of the Employment Act 1955.
However, private sector employers who do not typically grant the Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday as a paid holiday under the eleven minimum gazetted public holidays or at all are not legally obliged to provide 17 September 2024 as an additional paid holiday.
This has been confirmed by the Ministry of Human Resources
3 although there were earlier reports that there would be no automatic replacement holiday
4.
Past overlaps in recent public holidays occurred on 1 February 2022, when one of the Chinese New Year public holidays overlapped with Federal Territory Day and on 2 May 2022, when the Monday replacement holiday for Labour Day, which fell on a Sunday (rest day) coincided with the one of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays. In those cases, the Government advised that 3 February 2022
5 and 4 May 2022
6 be granted as additional paid holidays respectively, where applicable.
Alert by Sara Lau (Partner) of the Employment Practice of Skrine.