Employment 2025

INDONESIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Indra Setiawan, Ridzky Firmansyah Amin, Marintan Panjaitan and Tifanny Natalia, ABNR Counsellors at Law

6. Collective Relations 6.1 Unions

the employee, bearing in mind the principle of “no- work-no-pay” that is recognised under Indonesian employment law. Thus, sabbatical leave may refer to an extended peri - od of leave, such as paid long leave, unpaid leave, prolonged illness, and/or leave due to religious obli - gations, with no specific restrictions other than those pertaining to the particular leave period as well as work benefits and the payment of salary (ie, paid or unpaid). 5.3 Other New Manifestations There are currently no new legal developments or anticipated regulatory changes in the field of “new work” in Indonesia. The government is not expected to issue any laws or regulations regarding this matter. Despite the absence of formal regulation, companies in Indonesia have introduced the usage of certain new practices, such as: • desk-sharing; • clean-desk policy; As these practices are not currently regulated by Indonesian employment law, their implementation is subject to each company’s internal policies or mutual agreements between the employer and the employee. This allows employers to have flexibility in having their own work arrangements that best suit their business models, provided such arrangements remain in gen - eral compliance with Indonesian employment law. It is worth noting that, in 2023, the Indonesian Consti - tutional Court issued Decision No 168/PUU-XII/2023 dated 31 October 2024 (“Decision 168”), which clari - fies several provisions of the Indonesian employ - ment law without making any major changes or amendments and suggests that a new employment law will be drafted within two years. In line with this, the proposed amendment has been included in the 2025–2029 National Legislation Program. However, no draft has been released, and no official updates on its progress have been made available to date. • hybrid/remote working; and/or • having an office with open space.

Rules related to labour unions are contained primarily in Law No 21 of 2000 on Labour Unions. For a labour union to be recognised, following its establishment, it must: • register itself in writing with the local office of the manpower agency; and • notify the employer of its establishment and reg - istration number, which the employer is obliged to accept. A recognised labour union is entitled to: • negotiate a collective labour agreement with company management (subject to certain require - ments); • represent employees in industrial relations dispute settlements; • represent employees in manpower institutions; • establish an institution or carry out activities related to efforts to improve employee welfare; • carry out other manpower or employment-related activities that do not violate the prevailing law or regulations; • establish and become a member of a labour union federation; and • affiliate or co-operate with an international labour union or other international organisation. 6.2 Employee Representative Bodies Other than labour unions, Indonesian employment law also recognises bipartite co-operation bodies (BCBs). Employers that employ more than 50 employees are obliged to establish a BCB. A BCB functions as a communication-and-consulta - tion forum between an employer and representatives of a labour union and employees, to improve industrial relations. Members of a BCB comprise representatives of the employer and employees/labour union (with equal composition and at least six members).

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