Malaysian Woman Claims Employer Demanded Live Location During Leave

A Malaysian woman’s social media post has gone viral after she alleged that her employer demanded access to her live location during her annual leave — even while she was travelling overseas. The claim has triggered widespread outrage online and raised serious concerns about employee privacy and workplace boundaries.

The woman, who goes by the handle @_nnadrahhh, shared her experience on June 10, questioning whether her boss’s demand was “normal.” According to her, the employer introduced a “new rule” requiring all staff to share their live location as a condition for leave approval. Failure to comply, she said, would result in the employee being marked “absent,” despite having applied for and received leave approval.

“Leave requests were kept pending unless we granted live location access,” she wrote. “I guess I am just a slave,” she added, responding to a follower who asked under what law the rule was being enforced.

The woman was reportedly vacationing on an island off the Malaysian coast at the time of posting. She did not name the company but noted that her boss repeatedly called her when she refused to share her location. In a follow-up post, she shared a beach photo, expressing her frustration and adding,

“I was angry and ended up not sharing my location.”

Public Backlash and Legal Concerns

Her story struck a chord with many online, drawing hundreds of comments criticizing the employer's behaviour.

“This is not normal. Your boss is crazy,” one user commented.

“How can your boss breach your privacy like that? Staff can do whatever they want during their annual leave,” another added.

Some pointed out that such conditions could only be justified if the employer was sponsoring the trip, which was not the case here. Others flagged it as a threat to personal safety and a violation of basic worker rights.

“What they do is a threat to your safety and personal life. I would quit and get a new job if it were me,” said one response.

Alleged Policy Extends to Sick Leave

Shockingly, the woman also alleged that her company enforced the same policy even during unpaid or medical leave. She stated that if the company insisted again, she planned to report the matter to Malaysia’s Department of Labour.

According to Malaysian labour laws, employees are entitled to a minimum of eight days of paid annual leave per year. There is no legal basis requiring employees to disclose their real-time location while on leave.

This incident has reignited discussions around employee rights, privacy in the workplace, and the growing need for stricter regulations on employer surveillance practices.