In late March 2022, The Parliament of Malaysia issued a new Occupational Safety and Health Amended Act (OSHA). The new rules will apply to both public and private employers to enhance workplace compliance and will come into effect by 2023.
To help Malaysian businesses stay informed about the rule changes, we list down some of the most significant revisions to the OSHA Amendment Act 2022 to the existing regulations.
1. OSHA 2022 will apply to nearly all the country’s workplaces, with exceptions for shipping merchants, within armed forces and in domestic employment settings. Currently, the previous OSHA Act only applies to certain industries such as manufacturing, hospitality, and construction.
2. Integration of the OSHA Act 1994 and the Factories and Machinery Act (FMA) 1967 provisions into one comprehensive piece of health and safety legislation.
3. Provisions to make principal and immediate employers responsible for the health and safety of any contractors or subcontractors hired to work on their facilities.
4. The new law mandates that companies not required to employ a Safety and Health Officer (SHO), will now need to appoint one of their workers as a health and safety coordinator.
5. Increased penalties are also set out for employers and individuals found to breach the new rules. Companies found who neglect their health and safety duties will be liable to pay up to 500,000 MYR in fines – a tenfold increase on the previous maximum penalty.
The OSHA 2022 reforms present a significant challenge to companies in Malaysia in adapting to the new regulatory framework. With the introduction of 27 new sections, ESC’s legal register solutions are more valuable to its Malaysian clients than ever. The Legal Register update from ESC will support its clients in the country in smoothly navigating the regulatory changes.
If you want to learn more about Malaysia's OSHA Amendment Act and see how it might affect your business, please contact our local Legal Register experts.
