Comparison of labor laws in Pakistan, Sri Lanka & Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Health and safety Employees are subject to mechanical examination before beginning any strenuous job and are supposed to pay for that, also for any injury to the employee on the job. Employees are ought to train the employees regarding work place, safety and hygiene. Disability of any employee is not to be discriminated on the job and also if that disability is not a harm to the output then the employee is not eligible to be laid off.

Women and Youth They are especially accommodated, 15-18 years of age may only work for 35 hours per week and are entitled to 25 days of recreation leave. Same working hours for pregnant women yet are only allowed to work in day time and no other shifts. Women with children younger than 2 years are also allowed 30 minutes breast feeding break each day and are not entitled to travel, also pregnant women. Paid maternity leave as well.

Rest and Leave Employees can have breaks totaling one hour per day for prayer and lunch. Employees can also have paid leave including 20 days of recreation leave per year. And employees working in dangerous or underground conditions can have a paid leave for 1 month (30days). Employees get off on public holidays as well but if they want to work on off days they are allowed to do so. 20 days are allowed for sick leaves and 10 days in case of marriage/birth/death. One time leave of 45 days is allowed for Hajj pilgrimage.

Hours and wages Employees work for 40 hours per week. Overtime is allowed but must be no greater than the hours employees have already worked that day. Night shift workers are not allowed to work overtime. It must be atleast one hour shorter than the day shift. Only administrative and service employees working at night are entitled to 15% more than day shift workers and night shift production workers are entitled 25% premium. No specific minimum wage requirement in the labor code.

Employee Eligibility Any citizen over the age of 18 with secondary education or vocational training is eligible for employment. Youth 15-18 years of age are eligible for little work. Contract of 1 year atleats with duties mentioned of the position. Employees cannot discriminate based on age or gender.

Pakistan Rest and leave Employees can only have paid leave for 14 consecutive days in one year. Off days not taken in previous year are added back into the following year .

Hours and wages Employees can work for 7 hours in a day and 42 hours a week and this for employees who are 18 years and above of age. Specially reduced working hours in Ramadan. One hour of break is allowed for prayer and eating. 10 days of casual leaves with full paid leave and 16 days off for sick/medical leave (half paid leave).

Wages and Leave Minimum wage requirement in labor code is around Rs 9000 - Rs 12000 and it has to be paid within next seven days of the following month if number of employees are less than or equal to 1000. If more than 1000, the number of days is 10. One time leave for 60 days is allowed for Hajj pilgrimage.

Malaysia Health and safety

All employers with more than 5 employees are required by the legislation to formulate a written Safety and Health Policy.

The object of the Safety and Health Policy is to demonstrate the company's commitment and concern to ensure safety and health at place of work. When making decision or performing work activities of the organization, issues on safety and health stated in the policy must be taken into account. The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 specifies the general duties of employers, selfemployed persons, manufacturers, designers, suppliers and employees. Among the provisions of the Act is the establishment of the safety and health committee, the appointment of a safety and health officer and the enforcement, investigation and offenses. Women A female employee is entitled to maternity leave for a period of not less than the eligible period of 60 consecutive days and maternity allowance in respect of the eligible period. Maternity leave period may commence anytime within 30 days before her confinement but should not be later than the day immediately following her confinement. A female employee is qualified for maternity allowance if she fulfills certain conditions. She shall have less than 5 surviving children and has been employed for at least 90 days in the 4 months immediately before her confinement. Where a female employee is employed on a monthly pay rate, maternity allowance is based on her monthly wages. Otherwise the maternity allowance is the ordinary rate of pay for one day or RM6 per day whichever is higher for 60 consecutive days. Maternity allowance shall be paid in the same manner as if such allowance is wage and is payable not later than the 7th day after the last day of any wage period. A female employee is not entitled to rest day and paid sick leave benefits during maternity leave

Rest and Leave

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An employee shall be permitted to annual leave leave of not less than the following : 2 years service - 8 days for each year of service more than 2 years but less than 5 years service - 12 days for each year of service 5 years or more service - 16 days for each year of service Where an employee has not completed 12 months of continuous service with the same employer, such employee's entitlement to paid annual leave shall be proportioned to the number of completed months of service.

An employee shall be permitted to paid sick leave of not less than the following :
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less than 2 years service - 14 days in each calendar year more than 2 years but less than 5 years service - 18 days in each calendar year 5 years or more service - 22 days in each calendar year

hospitalization is necessary as certified by a registered medical practitioner - 60 days in each calendar year

An employee is not permitted to paid sick leave for any period during which the employee is receiving periodical payments under Workmen's Compensation or SOCSO.

Hours and wages

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The normal work hours of an employee shall not exceed 8 hours in one day or 48 hours in one week. All employees are permitted to paid holiday on at least 10 gazetted public holidays in any one calendar year. Annual leave for employee: less than 2 years of service 8 days of paid annual leave 2 to 5 years of service 12 days of paid annual leave more than 5 years of service 16 days of paid annual leave Paid sick leaves for employee: less than 2 years of service 14 days of paid sick leave 2 to 5 years of service 18 days of paid sick leave more than 5 years of service 22 days paid sick leave where hospitalization is necessary, up to a maximum of 60 days paid sick leave per calendar year The minimum payment for overtime work is 1 1/2 times the hourly rate of pay on normal working days, 2 times the hourly rate on rest days and 3 times the hourly rate on public holidays.

Employee Eligibility

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In Sabah, an employer is prohibited from employing a child under 14 years to work in construction, manufacturing, transportation, mining sector or other places such as restaurants, coffee shops, bars, hotels or offices. In Sarawak, no young person under the age of 16 years shall be employed on underground work in any time. In Peninsular Malaysia, under the Children and Young Persons (Employment) Act 1966 (Act 350), children under the age of 14 years are only allow to work between 7 AM until 8 PM not allow to work for 3 consecutive hours without a period of rest. Period of rest shall be at least 30 minutes not allow to work more than 6 hours a day. If attending school, total working and schooling hours shall not be more than 7 hours a day