Pekerja separa masa terbela
6.8 juta penduduk boleh bekerja dengan perlindungan penuh mulai esok
Berita Harian-2010/09/30
PUTRAJAYA: Mulai esok, 6.8 juta penduduk negara ini, termasuk 700,000 pelajar institusi pengajian tinggi (IPT) yang dikategorikan sebagai tenaga kerja
terpendam, boleh bekerja separa masa dengan menikmati perlindungan dan insentif seperti pekerja sepenuh masa, sekali gus dapat mengurangkan
kebergantungan kepada pekerja asing.
Ini berikutan pelaksanaan Peraturan-Peraturan Kerja (Pekerja Separa Masa) 2010 yang antara lain membolehkan pekerja separa masa mencarum dalam PERKESO
dan Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP) serta menikmati cuti umum, cuti tahunan, cuti sakit, hari rehat serta bayaran kerja lebih masa. Peraturan
itu juga membolehkan kakitangan awam bekerja separa masa selepas waktu kerja mengikut Peraturan 5, Peraturan Pegawai Awam (Kelakuan dan Tatatertib)
1993 dan Peraturan Pegawai Awam (Kelakuan dan Tatatertib) Pindaan 2002, tetapi perlu mendapat kebenaran bertulis ketua jabatan. Menteri Sumber
Manusia, Datuk Dr S Subramaniam, berkata peraturan itu diperkenalkan bagi menggalakkan tenaga kerja terpendam, seperti suri rumah, ibu tunggal,
pelajar IPT, pesara dan orang kurang upaya (OKU) bekerja separa masa mengikut kelapangan masing-masing, sekali gus meningkatkan pendapatan isi rumah.
Mengikut peraturan itu, pekerja separa masa didefinisikan sebagai mereka yang bekerja dengan jumlah waktu kerja lebih 30 peratus sehingga 70 peratus
daripada waktu kerja biasa pekerja sepenuh masa. Sekiranya kurang daripada had minimum itu, mereka dianggap sebagai pekerja sambilan, manakala
melebihi 70 peratus ditakrifkan pekerja tetap.
Sebagai contoh, sekiranya waktu kerja biasa pekerja sepenuh masa adalah lapan jam sehari, maka waktu kerja pekerja separa masa adalah antara 2.4 jam
hingga 5.6 jam sehari.
Bagaimanapun, pekerja separa masa tidak meliputi pekerja yang bekerja dari rumah, termasuk pembantu rumah atau secara teleworking. Pekerja separa masa
juga tidak layak mendapat bayaran faedah penamatan kerja dan elaun cuti bersalin, tetapi layak untuk cuti bersalin.
Pada sidang media di sini, semalam, Dr Subramaniam berkata, dengan pelaksanaan peraturan itu, wanita berkelayakan tinggi yang memilih untuk menjadi
suri rumah kerana tanggungjawab sebagai ibu dan isteri, kini boleh bekerja separa masa sebagai alternatif.
Katanya, 700,000 pelajar IPT juga mampu menjadi tenaga kerja separa masa yang bernilai kepada negara, selain memberi pendedahan kepada mereka mengenai
etika kerja serta memudahkan penyesuaian di alam pekerjaan selepas tamat pengajian.
Majikan pula, katanya, dapat menjimatkan perbelanjaan kerana bayaran gaji dibuat pro-rata berdasarkan tempoh masa bekerja, selain dikecualikan
daripada caruman di bawah Akta Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad (PSMB) 2001 untuk pekerja separa masa.
Dr Subramaniam menjelaskan, majikan dan pekerja separa masa boleh berunding bagi menentukan sama ada perkiraan tempoh kerja dilakukan secara harian,
mingguan atau bulanan.
Beliau juga menjelaskan, pekerja separa masa merangkumi mereka yang bekerja sekali-sekala atau tidak tetap, hanya apabila diperlukan dan masa kerjanya
dalam seminggu tidak melebihi 30 peratus daripada masa kerja pekerja tetap.
Dari segi usia pula, hanya mereka berusia 18 tahun ke atas boleh bekerja secara sah dan mereka berusia antara 15 hingga 18 tahun dianggap individu
muda yang dibenar melakukan kerja tertentu saja manakala yang berusia 15 tahun ke bawah ditakrifkan sebagai kanak-kanak dan tidak boleh diambil
bekerja.
Majikan yang tidak mematuhi Peraturan-Peraturan Kerja (Pekerja Separa Masa) dan bersabit kesalahan boleh dikenakan denda tidak melebihi RM10,000 bagi
setiap satu kesalahan.
Thursday 30 September 2010
New rules on part-time work
30 September 2010
PUTRAJAYA: Only those working between 30% and 70% of the eight-hour stretch daily will be considered part-timers under new rules from next month, said Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam.
He said if a full day’s work was considered to be eight hours, workers would have to put in between 2.5 hours and 5.6 hours each day to qualify as part-timers.
He said staff working below 30% of the eight-hour stretch would be categorised as casual workers while those putting in more than 70% were full-timers.
“However, we are allowing flexibility in the number of hours put in by part-timers for each day. Employers can decide if they want to calculate the number of hours on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis.
“For example, employers can choose to allow part-timers to work eight hours in one day but then put in less hours another day,” he told reporters here.
Dr Subramaniam said the new rules, which were expected to benefit 6.8 million latent workers, would allow part-timers to find regular employment.
He said it would also enable employers to regularly hire staff that they did not require on a full-time basis as well as give better protection to part-timers by outlining the compensation they were entitled to if they were involved in workplace accidents.
Asked if the new rules would cause some employers to choose to hire more part-timers, Dr Subramaniam said this would not be in the best interest of companies.
“This is because not all jobs can be handled by workers coming in for only a limited number of hours.
“Employers will also save little by doing this because they will have to pay wages and EPF and Socso contributions for part-timers on a pro-rated basis.
“Part-timers will be entitled to leave, including medical leave, for which the days are also to be calculated on a pro-rated basis,” he said.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/9/30/nation/7130137&sec=nation
Tuesday 14 September 2010
Income Tax (Special Treatment on Interest on Housing Loan)(Amendment) Regulations 2010 [P.U.(A) 288/2010]
The Order amends Regulation 5 of the Income Tax (Special Treatment on Interest on Housing Loan) Regulations 2009 [P.U.(A) 109/2009] and is retrospective from year of assessment 2009 and subsequent years of assessment.
A moratorium of housing loan interest approved by a bank or financial institution shall not constitute the gross income of that bank or financial institution. Previously, such treatment is applicable where the employment of the individual to whom the housing loan was granted has been terminated pursuant to a separation scheme or retrenchment on or after 1 July 2008 and the housing loan was granted prior to the termination of the employment.
The conditions are now relaxed by this Order to include the individual who is carrying on a business, the individual whose monthly income has been reduced due to a salary cut or in the case of joint loan, the employment of the individual’s spouse has been terminated on or after 1 July 2008, as well as the individual who is a guarantor under a housing loan where the employment of the guarantor is terminated pursuant to a separation scheme or retrenchment on or after 1 July 2008. For the individual who is carrying on a business, the housing loan was granted before 10 March 2009.
Guidelines on procedures issued by the Royal Malaysian Customs
The Royal Malaysian Customs (RMC) has issued guidelines on procedures pertaining to the following:
§ Windfall profits levy
§ Excise duty
§ Service tax
§ Sales tax
§ Sales tax on petroleum
The above guidelines cover, among others, the procedures for applying for licences, payment of levy/ duty/ tax and conditions for taxability/ claiming exemption.
You may view the detailed procedures at the RMC’s website at
http://www.customs.gov.my/index.php/en/procedures/internal-tax/prosedur-prosuder
Monday 13 September 2010
Practice Direction No 5 of 2010 on Mediation
From MLTIC
The Chief Justice of Malaysia has issued a Practice Direction on mediation, which came into effect on 16 Aug 2010. According to the Practice Direction, all Judges of the High Court and its Deputy Registrar and all Judges of the Sessions Court and Magistrates and their Registrars, may “give such directions that the parties facilitate the settlement of a matter before the court by way of mediation”.
The objective of this Practice Direction is to encourage parties to arrive at an amicable settlement without having to go through, or complete, a trial or appeal.
The benefits of settling disputes by way of mediation are as follows:
* Parties are able to explore all options available;
* Underlying issues and common grounds may be identified;
* Good relationships are restored and maintained;
* Terms agreed upon would be acceptable to both parties;
* Settlement is expeditious;
* No delays in court hearings; and
* Terms of settlement are final.
The Practice Direction offers the following modes of referrals to mediation, whereby parties are given the option to select:
* Option A - Judge-led mediation; or
* Option B - By a mediator agreeable to by both parties.
Option A
This option allows for a process whereby, if agreed by parties, the Judge hearing the case will refer the case to another Judge.
In the event the mediation fails, the matter will then be referred to the original Judge to hear and complete the case. However, if mediation is successful, the Judge mediating shall record a consent judgment on the terms as agreed to by the parties.
Option B
This option allows parties to appoint a trained mediator of their preference (mutually agreed upon) to mediate the matter. At the present moment, there is a total of 236 mediators empanelled on the Bar Council Malaysian Mediation Centre (MMC). For a list of MMC mediators, kindly call Marianna Tan (03-2031 3762) or Faizal Mahat (03-2031 3003 ext 185).
Under this option, parties may, if they so desire, appoint more than one mediator to resolve their dispute.
MMC’s rates are as follows:
* Mediator’s fees: RM1,500 per day (regardless of the quantum of claim);
* Administrative fees: RM300 per case; and
* Room Rental: RM350 per day, if MMC’s premises are being utilised.
A pre-mediation conference will be conducted without any charge.
Should parties decide to engage the services of MMC, kindly complete and submit the Mediation Request Form to MMC.
Apart from the cases identified in the Practice Direction, MMC also mediates disputes in the following areas of practice:
* Landlord/Tenant;
* Hire-Purchase;
* Employment;
* Construction;
* Defamation;
* Probate & Estate;
* Conveyancing; and
* Professional Malpractice.
It is hoped that Members would take this opportunity to encourage their clients to opt for mediation and settle their disputes by way of mediation.
[...]
Ragunath Kesavan
President
Malaysian Bar
Govt mulling trading ringgit offshore to boost investments
From: MLTIC
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia could end the year with at least 6% growth based on strong domestic consumption and fairly strong external demand, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
“Yes, I believe we can achieve a robust growth this year. There is enough momentum domestically. And external demand, although there will be some sort of dampening effect, we expect it to be fairly strong,” he told CNBC’s Martin Soong in an interview yesterday.
Najib also said that the country would consider making the ringgit tradable overseas if it could bring in more foreign investment.
But he also said most investors did not view this as the key for their investment decisions.
“If we think that it’s going to help the economy, certainly we will review the situation,” he said.
The Government was monitoring the currency to ensure it reflects economic fundamentals and at the moment, the stronger ringgit doesn’t seem to be having a negative impact on exports, said Najib.
Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said the wage structure would also be reviewed, adding that an announcement would be made soon to attract Malaysian talent outside the country.
“We would have to look at the wage structure in Malaysia. I think we have undervalued human talent in Malaysia. We need to find a mechanism so that we can raise wage levels in Malaysia,” he said.
He also invited United States President Barack Obama to engage more economically with Asian countries, especially within Asean.
“This is an important region and the US cannot afford not to have a serious policy and engagement towards Asia. That should manifest itself in many ways,” he said.
Najib also said that the Government was committed to more sophisticated development policies for Sabah and Sarawak under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP).
“If you look at the resources we are going to allocate under the 10MP, especially with respect to the Government Transformation Programme, quite a large chunk of it will be channelled to Sarawak and Sabah,” he said.
Najib added that the Government’s objective was for more equitable development of basic transport and energy infrastructure in the two states as part of the New Economic Model (NEM).
Update on Standard Documents available in Audit Express
We are also pleased to inform you that we have added 19 new documents to the AXP’s standard audit programmes, letters and correspondences, and made revision to certain standard documents! A summary of these latest developments is available in the attached file - New and revised AXP documents.pdf for your information.
Should you wish to install these documents, kindly contact our Technical Support Team members at 1300 882 297 or support@myaxp.com.
ISQC 1 Compliance Checklists
From: AXP
Background
Furthermore, if your Firm has adopted AXP’s standard documents, you may note that certain checklists and forms required to perform an audit engagement are already available in the existing standard documents in Audit Express!
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