KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 — The Human Resources Ministry has published new rules for the minimum standards that employers must follow from September 1 if they provide housing for their employees, the failure of which will result in a fine of up to RM50,000.
In a new set of regulations made on August 27 by Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, a list of minimum requirements for accommodation provided by employers to their employees include basic items such as where fans and lamps have to be provided.
The new regulations, which will kick in on September 1, requires employers and centralised accommodation providers to provide these three items to every employee staying in the provided accommodation:
1. A single bed measuring not less than 1.7 square metres. And if a double-decker bed is provided, the space between two beds shall not be less than 0.7 metres.
2. A mattress at least four inches thick, a pillow and a blanket
3. A locked cupboard (measuring a minimum 0.35 metres long, 0.35 metres wide, 0.9 metres high) for the safe custody of the employee’s valuables including passport which may be accessible by the employee at any time.
For these three items, the government regulations stressed that these are not to be shared among the employees.
The employer or centralised accommodation provider is also required to ensure there is water and electricity supply in the accommodations provided to the employees.
The same set of regulations also specified the provision of “bedroom” with minimum floor area of 3.6 square metres for each employee if the provided accommodation is not a dormitory, and a “sleeping area” with minimum floor area of three square metres for each employee if the provided accommodation is a dormitory.
The regulations also specified the very minimum that must be met in employer-provided accommodation or accommodation provided by centralised accommodation providers, whether the employees are housed in a dormitory or not.
This includes the provision of a kitchen area and a dining area with chairs and tables.
But most importantly, the maximum number of employees sharing a bathroom and toilet was also specified as six employees (if not a dormitory) or 15 employees (if a dormitory).
These new regulations are titled Employees’ Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodations and Amenities (Accommodation and Centralized Accommodation) Regulations 2020 and were gazetted by the government on August 28.
According to the same regulations, a centralised accommodation provider who breaches the minimum standards set for employees’ housing commits an offence, which is punishable upon conviction by a maximum RM1,000 fine, or a maximum six-month jail term, or both.
Employers who fail to comply with such minimum standards in the regulations when providing a place to stay for their employees also commit an offence.
Although the punishment for employers is not directly stated in the regulations, Saravanan had on August 27 said that employers who fail to comply with standards set under the amended Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446) — which will be fully enforced on September 1 — could face a maximum fine of RM50,000 for each offence.