An Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia will allow you to log, approve and track all types of leave. It will also ensure that your company’s policies and the minimum required by law in Malaysia are met. It will give you a central point to log leave and ensure everyone involved (HR managers & employees) can see it all in one place. This guide outlines all the basic information that you need to know, plus plenty of detailed information on the benefits and disadvantages.
What an Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia does, in simple terms
Think about an Employee Leave Management System like a bank account. Employees are given a ‘leave balance’ which fluctuates depending on their entitlement. They can accrue leave depending on company policies. Managing this manually can be a pain.
Leave management systems including any Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia will automatically help you:
● Request leave – Employees can request leave via a browser or mobile.
● Approve leave – The correct manager can approve leave with the team calendar visible.
● Leave entitlement – Automatically updates entitlement.
● Log leave – All leave requests, approvals and changes are logged.
Core features of a leave management system
There will normally be the following features within a full Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia.
● Various leave types – Annual, Sick, Hospitalisation, Maternity, Paternity, Unpaid, Compassionate & Custom.
● Leave Accrual – Automatically calculate entitlement based on service band. Proration can be applied for those joining in the middle of the year.
● Carry forward – Define how much leave can be carried forward.
● Half days/hourly – Log half days/hourly.
● Self Service – Employees can request, cancel and view their leave.
● Multiple Approval – Leave can be approved by one or multiple people. Delegated.
● Team Calendar – Managers can view who is on leave.
● Public Holidays – Public holidays defined by state.
● Document Upload – Medical Certificates or evidence.
● Notifications – Notifications can be set up for when leave needs to be approved, when leave is due and if there is low leave balances.
● Attendance & Payroll – Approved leave will be put into attendance. Unpaid leave will go into payroll.
● Reporting & Analytics – Leave liability, Utilisation & Absence trends.
● Audit Trail & Permissions – Everything is logged. Permissions can be set up by role.
How leave is governed in Malaysia
Leave is not just a policy choice it is also regulated. Within the Employment Act 1955 there are minimums set out. Companies are not allowed to offer less than minimum. Common leave entitlements:
● Annual Leave – 8 Days (under 2 yrs), 12 Days (2-5 Yrs), 16 Days (over 5 Yrs).
● Paid Sick Leave – 14, 18 or 22 days depending on service band. Up to 60 days if they are in hospital.
● Maternity Leave – 98 Consecutive days.
● Paternity Leave – 7 Consecutive days for eligible males.
● Public Holidays – Minimum 11 days but 5 must be mandatory. Public holidays defined by state.
There are lots of rules around coverage, eligibility and differences between states. Recently the law has also been updated so make sure you check with the Ministry of Human Resources or your legal counsel to get the correct policy. A good Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia should allow you to define your policies once and apply to all employees.
How the system works behind the screen
Leave systems often have 5 sections:
● Policy – Various leave types, service bands, leave accrual, proration, carry forward and eligibility.
● Approval – Multiple approvals and delegated.
● Calendar – Team & Company calendar. Public holidays (by state). Blackout dates.
● ntegration – Attendance & Payroll. Unpaid leave will automatically go into payroll.
● Data & Permissions – Audit trail & Roles.
The most important thing in the best Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia is it integrates well. This means that unpaid leave will automatically go into payroll reducing any issues with salary.
Advantages and disadvantages of automating leave
Benefits of the best Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia:
● Accurate – Policies will be applied.
● Compliant – Minimums covered.
● Quick – Quick to request and approve.
● Visible – Managers can see who is available.
● Transparent – Employees can view their leave balances.
● Auditable – Full audit trail.
Disadvantages:
● Time consuming to set up – Policies need to be properly documented.
● Data entry – Incorrect starting balances will cause incorrect results.
● Cost – Most will have a cost.
● Training – Training will be required for managers and employees.
● Complicated – If there are complicated rules there could be workarounds.
● Dependent on vendor – You will be dependent on your vendor.
Those with clear policies will benefit from automating but those with varied policies will be exposed.
Where AI changes leave management
Leave systems are becoming more dynamic. There has been lots of interest in AI enabled HRMS, AI driven HR & Payroll software in Malaysia, Intelligent Workforce Management and Automation driven HR. Buyers looking for a top Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia want leave systems that can do more than just log leave.
Examples include:
● Chatbot – Employees can view their leave balance, request leave and ask questions about policies in plain language.
● Insight – Insight into absence, overtime and coverage.
● Bot – Configurable bot to highlight any issues, notify stakeholders and escalate any pending approvals.
Our AI enabled leave management in Voyon Folks 6.0 can be done on mobile via our AI HR Assistant Folksy. It also has configurable bots for attendance, shift & payroll. The responses will depend on roles and escalation can be determined by the administrator. There are some limitations though. Any AI that affects pay needs to be verified by someone. Depending on licensing & permissions you can access it. It will also depend on clean data.
What should Best Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia have?
Your best Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia will depend on your structure. Make sure it has:
● Flexible policies – Various leave types, service bands, proration & carry forward.
● Public Holidays – By state & declared by company.
● Multiple Approvals – Multiple levels. Delegated.
● Attendance & Payroll – No manual entry.
● Mobile – Request & approve on any phone. Great for field staff.
● Multi Entity – Different policies for different branches/companies.
● Secure & Private – Role based permissions. Audit trail. Reasonable hosting.
● Reporting – Leave Liability, Utilisation & Absence.
How to compare a Top Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia
A Top Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia should really be a shortlist. Make sure it has:
● Realistic Policies – Define your leave types & service bands.
● Test – Try some scenarios such as mid year joiners, hospitalisation and public holidays.
● Data – Ensure approved leave is going into payroll.
● Export – Can you export your data?
● Pilot – Start with one department.
Choosing infrastructure, not just a tool
As leave affects payroll accuracy, legal compliance and daily planning of your teams, choosing an Employee Leave Management System in Malaysia is an infrastructure choice. Weigh up the benefits and disadvantages and decide if it is right for you. Pilot the system. Voyon Folks has been designed for use in organisations with multiple legal entities, different policies for each business unit and up to tens of thousands of employees. It also has AI in the employee, manager & HR processes. Find out how we use AI to manage leave with attendance & payroll here: www.voyonfolks.com/regional-home/asia
FAQ
1. What is a leave management system?
A leave management system (LMS) is a digital tool to help manage time off requests, policies and balances. It will replace manual paper forms, messy spreadsheets and emails.
2. How many types of leave?
There is no one answer to this question as leave will depend on your company policies, industry standards and local labour laws (statutory in countries like India & the U.S). However most organisations will have around 10-11 leave types.
3. What is the best leave management software?
Voyon Folks is a great option for leave management. Our AI powered HRMS will help simplify your leave management with our AI powered leave management. Employees can request leave, managers can approve leave, leave can be tracked and give visibility of your workforce.
4. What are the top 5 HRIS systems?
The top 5 HRIS systems are Voyon Folks, Workday HCM, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM and UKG Pro.
5. How to track staff leave?
The easiest way to track staff leave is with Voyon Folks AI powered HRMS. This will allow you to manage leave requests, leave balances, streamline approvals and give visibility of team absences. This will reduce manual entry, reduce errors and give HR better visibility.
6. What software do HR use?
HR use various software to manage employee records, payroll, recruitment and performance. Generally this will be split into HRIS systems & specialised systems.
