House Speaker Urges Private Sector to Guarantee Employee Rights on WFH Policy

House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani has urged private companies to guarantee employees’ rights when implementing the government’s recommended work-from-home (WFH) policy for one day per week. The recommendation for the private sector was issued through Circular Letter of the Minister of Manpower (SE Menaker) Number M/6/HK.04/III/2026 on Work From Home and the Programme for Optimising Energy Utilisation in the Workplace. In the letter, Minister of Manpower Yassierli stipulates that companies must pay wages/salaries and other employee rights in accordance with regulations, and the implementation of WFH must not reduce annual leave. Puan also urged companies to comply with these provisions. “Companies must be disciplined in continuing to provide employees’ rights, without exception,” said the PDI Perjuangan politician in a written statement quoted on Friday, 3 April 2026. According to Puan, this policy has the potential to increase productivity, just as it did when implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic a few years ago. However, Puan believes that the implementation of WFH should be returned to each company’s policy, considering that not all private sectors can operate with such a work method. The government excludes the application of WFH for the private sector in areas such as healthcare, for example hospitals, clinics, medical personnel, and pharmaceuticals; the energy sector (oil and gas fuel, and electricity); the industrial and production sector; the services sector; and others. Puan is confident that this recommendation can serve as a good effort for energy efficiency, provided the implementation is appropriate. Therefore, she supports placing this policy as a selective and measured recommendation for the private sector. “It is indeed important to ensure that the WFH policy in the private sector does not create new problems for the business world and society,” said the former Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection. The government has set a work-from-home policy every Friday for civil servants, effective from 1 April 2026. Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto stated that, in addition to saving energy due to the surge in global oil prices, this policy also encourages digital-based government governance. Friday was chosen because activities on that day are considered not as busy as other working days. According to Airlangga, this policy will be evaluated after two months of implementation.