Guide to Malaysian Employment Law

This Guide is a one-stop introductory guide to Malaysian employment law, written by The Malaysian Lawyer co-founder Marcus van Geyzel , and includes categorised links to employment law articles Marcus has published on The Malaysian Lawyer.

The topics in this Guide have been selected based on feedback from in-house counsel and HR professionals, and cover the usual high-level background legal information they would like to have on-hand, particularly as professionals from other jurisdictions considering employment issues in Malaysia.

Nothing in this Guide is legal advice, and its contents will be updated from time-to-time. This Guide was last updated on 11 January 2023, and takes into account changes as a result of the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 and Employment (Amendment of First Schedule) Order 2022 effective 1 January 2023.

General information

The legal framework to the Malaysian employment and industrial relations ecosystem is generally provided by the Employment Act 1955 and the Industrial Relations Act 1967.

The Employment Act sets out minimum statutory benefits and entitlements. From 1 January 2023, the Employment Act applies to all employees (“any person who has entered into a contract of service”), with the exception of the sections in relation to overtime payments and termination benefits, which will not apply to employees whose wages exceed RM4,000/month.

• Employees earning up to RM4,000/month will be entitled to overtime payments. Here’s what employers need to know
• Malaysia Employment Act amendments: 7 key changes for employers to note
• Employment Act to apply to all employees from 1 January 2023, some sections subject to increased salary threshold of RM4,000/month
• Employment law: 2021 review and 2022 forecast
• What Malaysian employers need to know about employment law

Employer legal entity requirements

There is no requirement for a foreign employer to establish an entity in Malaysia purely to engage an employee in Malaysia. This is of course subject to tax and permanent establishment considerations, depending on the nature of the business and the role of the employee.

While the Companies Act requires foreign companies to be registered as a foreign company in Malaysia before “carrying on business in Malaysia”, merely hiring employees does not constitute “carrying on business”.

Foreign companies can of course choose to incorporate a subsidiary in Malaysia, or register a branch or representative office.

Other common international structures such as MSPs and PEOs can also be used in the Malaysian market.

• Case Update: Factors considered by the Industrial Court in determining the identity of the employer in a multi-jurisdictional employment relationship
• Case Update: Potential pitfalls where an employee is engaged by a Malaysian service provider for a foreign employer

Pre-employment considerations

There is no regulation of pre-employment background checks, and extent of these checks are industry or employer-specific. Employers should obtain the individual’s consent for the processing of any personal data, and ensure compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act 2010.

Options for engagement

Employees can be engaged on a permanent, fixed-term, full-time, or part-time basis.

Individuals can also be engaged as independent contractors either directly or through a service provider. There is the same misclassification risk as in most other jurisdictions. The risk level depends on a range of factors, and the courts will look at the substance of the relationship (including work instructions, level of control, exclusivity, benefits entitlements, organisational integration) over its form.

Employment contracts, policies, and other documentation

The Employment Act requires that a contract of service be in writing where the contract is for a specified period of time exceeding one month or for the performance of a specified piece of work, where the time reasonably required for the completion of the work exceeds or may exceed one month. The Employment Act also requires this written contract of service to include a clause setting out the manner in which such contracts may be terminated by either party.

• Legal considerations when hiring employees in Malaysia
• Ensuring proper employee management from a legal perspective
• Case Update: Is a clause in an employee handbook effective if an employee claims not to have read it?

Probationary periods

Probationary periods are not regulated, and it is common to see probationary periods of 1-6 months. Probationers are generally entitled to similar security of tenure as confirmed/permanent employees, and any non-confirmation of employment during or at the end of the probationary period must be reasonable.

Other employment policies

There are no compulsory employment policies. Common policies include those in relation to workplace health and safety, whistleblowing, grievance and harassment, and intellectual property or proprietary invention and assignment matters. Some employers also have a standalone data privacy policy to address the consent/notice requirements of the Personal Data Protection Act (see the “Data privacy” section below).

Minimum wage

From 1 May 2022, the monthly minimum wage was increased to RM1,500 nationwide.

There is a temporary exemption until 1 July 2023 for employers with less than five employees. However, this exemption does not apply to employers who carry out professional activities (as classified under the Malaysia Standard Classification of Occupations published by the Ministry of Human Resources), regardless of number of employees.

• Confirmed: New Minimum Wages Order effective 1 May 2022; employers with less than 5 employees exempted

Minimum employment rights, and standard terms and conditions

The Employment Act provides statutory minimum employment rights and terms and conditions for employees. We list some of the entitlements under the Employment Act in this section.

Hours of work

An employee shall not be required under his contract of service to work —

• more than 5 consecutive hours without a period of leisure of not less than 30 minutes;
• more than 8 hours in one day;
• in excess of a spread over period of 10 hours in one day;
• more than 45 hours in one week,

• any break of less than 30 minutes in the 5 consecutive hours shall not break the continuity of that 5 consecutive hours;
• an employee who is engaged in work which must be carried on continuously and which requires his continual attendance may be required to work for 8 consecutive hours inclusive of a period or periods of not less than 45 minutes in the aggregate during which he shall have the opportunity to have a meal; and
• where, by agreement under the contract of service between the employee and the employer, the number of hours of work on one or more days of the week is less than 8, the limit of 8 hours may be exceeded on the remaining days of the week, but so that no employee shall be required to work for more than 9 hours in one day or 45 hours in one week.

Overtime payments

Employees with wages of up to RM4,000/month are entitled to overtime compensation under the Employment Act. Pursuant to the Employment Act, for any overtime work carried out in excess of the normal hours of work, eligible employees shall be paid at a rate not less than 1.5 times his hourly rate of pay irrespective of the basis on which his rate of pay is fixed. Here “normal hours of work” means the number of hours of work as agreed between an employer and an employee in the contract of service to be the usual hours of work per day.

Public holidays

Employees are entitled to a paid holiday at the ordinary rate of pay on 11 of the gazetted public holidays and on any day designated as a public holiday under the Holidays Act 1951. The Employment Act provides that five of those 11 gazetted public holidays must be —

• the National Day;
• the Birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong;
• the Birthday of the Ruler or the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, as the case may be, of the State in which the employee wholly or mainly works under his contract of service, or the Federal Territory Day, if the employee wholly or mainly works in the Federal Territory;
• the Workers’ Day; and
• Malaysia Day.

The Employment Act also provides that, if any of the public holidays falls on a rest day or another public holiday, the working day following immediately the rest day or the other public holiday shall be a paid holiday.

It is normal market practice for all employees to be granted paid holidays on all the National and State level public holidays.

Annual leave

Employees are entitled to paid annual leave of —

• 8 days for every 12 months of continuous service with the same employer if the employee has been employed by that employer for a period of less than two years;
• 12 days for every 12 months of continuous service with the same employer if the employee has been employed by that employer for a period of two years or more but less than five years; and
• 16 days for every 12 months of continuous service with the same employer if the employee has been employed by that employer for a period of five years or more,

and if the employee has not completed 12 months of continuous service with the same employer during the year in which his contract of service terminates, his entitlement to paid annual leave shall be in direct proportion to the number of completed months of service.

Sick leave

Employees are entitled to the following sick leave, where no hospitalisation is necessary:

• 14 days in the aggregate in each calendar year if the employee has been employed for less than 2 years.
• 18 days in the aggregate in each calendar year if the employee has been employed for 2 years or more but less than 5 years.
• 22 days in the aggregate in each calendar year if the employee has been employed for 5 years or more.

Where hospitalisation is necessary, employees are entitled to 60 days sick leave in the aggregate in each calendar year.

Maternity leave

Female employees are entitled to paid maternity leave of not less than 98 consecutive days.

Paternity leave

Male employees are entitled to paid paternity leave of not less than 7 consecutive days.

Minimum retirement age

The minimum retirement age in Malaysia is 60.

Flexible working arrangement

The Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 entitles employees to apply to their employment for a flexible working arrangement to vary the hours, days, or place of work.

An employer must approve or refuse the application within 60 days, stating the grounds for any refusal.

It is not mandatory to have a Flexible Working Policy, but it is a recommended best practice.

Data privacy

The collection and processing of personal data is governed by the Personal Data Protection Act 2010. Employers must obtain employee consent before collecting and processing their personal data. Explicit/express consent is required if “sensitive personal data” is involved. Employers must notify their employees of the nature and purpose of information being collected, to whom it is being disclosed, and that the employees have the right to access such data. Consent is also required before this data is shared with third parties. A bilingual (in English and Bahasa Malaysia) employee consent/notice document is required.

Employee transfers in sale of assets/business transactions

There is no ARD/TUPE equivalent in Malaysia. There is no mechanism for the automatic transfer of employment in sale of assets/business transaction, and employees will by default remain employed by the seller in such transactions. Any “transfer” of employees in such transactions is effected by a termination (by the seller) and rehire (by the buyer), and the seller will be exempted from paying any statutory severance payment under the Employment (Termination and Lay-Off Benefits) Regulations 1980 if the new offer from the buyer is under terms and conditions of employment not less favourable than those under which the employee was employed by the seller. An employee will not be entitled to statutory severance payment if the employee unreasonably refuses the new offer.

Termination of employment

Termination must be with “just cause or excuse”. There is no fixed or comprehensive list of acceptable grounds for termination of employment by an employer, but the usual reasons would include misconduct, poor performance, redundancy, or closure of business.

All employees are protected from unfair dismissal.

• Handing employee dismissals properly under Malaysian law
• Case Update: Can an employee be dismissed for misconduct off-the-job and outside office hours?
• Case Update: Factors considered when determining whether a resignation is forced or voluntary
• Case Update: Court of Appeal considers whether an employer can dismiss an employee for insubordination
• Case Update: Federal Court decides whether punishable misconduct in employment law is distinguishable from criminal conduct
• Employee poor performance: Some recent cases

Termination notice

Termination notice must be the same for both employer and employee, and the length of the notice can be determined by the contract. If the contract is silent, the following statutory termination notice periods apply:

• 4 weeks’ notice if the employee has been so employed for less than 2 years on the date on which the notice is given.
• 6 weeks’ notice if the employee has been so employed for 2 years or more, but less than 5 years on such date.
• 8 weeks’ notice if the employee has been so employed for 5 years or more on such date.

Alternatively, a payment in lieu of notice can be made by either party.

Notice of termination is not required if there is a serious misconduct or a “wilful breach” of the employment contract.

Severance payments

Employees with wages of up to RM4,000/month who have been employed for 12 months or more are entitled to the following minimum statutory severance payments pursuant to the Employment (Termination and Lay-Off Benefits) Regulations 1980:

• 10 days’ wages for every year of employment under a continuous contract of service with the employer if he has been employed by that employer for a period of less than 2 years.
• 15 days’ wages for every year of employment under a continuous contract of service with the employer if he has been employed by that employer for 2 years or more but less than 5 years.
• 20 days’ wages for every year of employment under a continuous contract of service with the employer if he has been employed by that employer for 5 years or more.

For employees with wages of more than RM4,000/month, the entitlement to severance payments depends on the employment contract. If the contract is silent, there is no statutory right to termination benefits, but in some circumstances there is a general expectation that a financially-able employer should pay reasonable severance compensation.

Retrenchment/redundancy

When carrying out a retrenchment exercise, employers must lodge a notification with the nearest Department of Labour, using the standard “Borang PK” form at least 30 days before the termination of employment.

Retrenchments can be justified by various reasons, such as redundancy, or for financial reasons. However, if challenged, employers must be able to prove that the retrenchment was carried out for genuine reasons. Employers must also use the “Last In, First Out” (LIFO) principle, or an alternative fair and objective selection criteria.

Employers are encouraged (but not required) to abide by the Code of Conduct for Industrial Harmony when implementing a retrenchment exercise.

• What you need to know about the law on retrenchment of employees
• Case Update: Relevant issues when an employer uses financial difficulties as a reason for retrenchment
• Retrenchments in Malaysia — some recent cases
• Case Update: Court of Appeal sets out key legal principles for retrenchments
• Case Update: Industrial Court finds retrenchment due to effects of COVID-19/MCO was unfair
• Case Update: Another company’s retrenchment of employees due to COVID-19/MCO deemed unfair by Industrial Court
• Case Update: Justifying a retrenchment and departure from LIFO

Poor performance dismissals

Poor performance is one of the acceptable reasons which constitute just cause for a unilateral termination. However, the employee has to be treated fairly. An employer who dismisses an employee for poor performance faces the risk of a successful unfair dismissal claim by the employee if the termination was not carried out fairly. Whether or not the termination was fair will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Generally, to be deemed fair, a termination based on poor performance would require the following:

• The standard of performance expected must be reasonable, clear, and measurable, and the employee must be aware of these standards.
• The employer must have clearly communicated to the employee that his performance has not been meeting expectations.
• The employer must have offered constructive feedback and guidance on how the employee can improve to meet expectations.
• The employee must be given sufficient guidance or training if required, and afforded a reasonable timeframe in which to improve his performance.
• There may need to be more than one round of feedback and opportunity to improve, and any feedback sessions should be documented.

Mutually-agreed separations

Where an employer is uncertain as to whether the dismissal is fair (if the employee brings an unfair dismissal claim, the burden will be on the employer to show that the dismissal was fair), or wants the employee to agree to additional post-employment covenants, some employers opt to offer an ex gratia payment in return for the signing of a mutual separation agreement. This then would no longer be a termination of employment by the employer, but a mutually-agreed separation.

The benefit of a mutual separation agreement is it reduces the likelihood of an employee bringing an unfair dismissal claim. However, the release of claims cannot effectively bar an employee from making such a claim.

• Case Update: Can an employee bring an unfair dismissal claim after accepting a severance payment?
• Case Update: Insufficient justification and improper handling of Voluntary Separation Scheme may give rise to unfair dismissal
• Case Update: Unfair dismissal due to poor handling of mutual separation agreement

Post-termination restrictions

Post termination non-compete restrictions are void and unenforceable pursuant to Section 28 of the Contracts Act, as they are a form of restraint of trade.

Post termination non-solicitation restrictions (of customers and employees) do not directly breach Section 28 of the Contracts Act, but are difficult to enforce and are typically only enforceable to the extent that there has been a breach of confidentiality, or misuse of confidential information or trade secrets.

Unfair dismissal claims

An employee can lodge an unfair dismissal complaint at the Industrial Relations Department within 60 days of his/her last employment date. This is a strict deadline.

Upon receiving a complaint, the Industrial Relations Department will arrange an informal conciliation meeting between the employer and employee to attempt to mediate a settlement. If the parties cannot reach a settlement, the matter will proceed to an Industrial Court trial.

The potential financial exposure for an employer in the event of a successful unfair dismissal claim is —

• backwages of up to a maximum of 24 months; and
• compensation in lieu of reinstatement, calculated at one month per year of service.

• Case Update: High Court rules entitlement to back wages limited to unexpired duration of fixed-term contract
• Case Update: When an employee transfer can amount to a constructive dismissal
• Case Update: Employer’s poor handling of workplace assault and harassment complaints amounts to constructive dismissal
• Case Update: Can an employee bring an unfair dismissal claim after accepting a severance payment?
• Case Update: Insufficient justification and improper handling of Voluntary Separation Scheme may give rise to unfair dismissal
• Case Update: Unfair dismissal due to poor handling of mutual separation agreement
• Changes to the Industrial Relations Act from January 2021: Highlights and practical impact on employee exits
• Case Update: Court of Appeal rules that employee demotion amounts to constructive dismissal
• Case Update: Federal Court rules that an employer cannot use reasons discovered post-dismissal to justify an employee dismissal

Conclusion

This Guide to Malaysian Employment Law is intended to be a high-level introduction to Malaysian employment law. Please share the Guide with others who may find it useful. It will be continually updated. Please leave a comment below if you have any feedback, or requests or suggestions for other employment law issues that should be included in this guide. You may also want to browse articles on The Malaysian Lawyer using some of these tags: employment law / Industrial Court / retrenchment / unfair dismissal .

Marcus van Geyzel / [email protected]

Peter Ling & van Geyzel / plvg.my

48 thoughts on “ Guide to Malaysian Employment Law ”

Good morning. We have one question about employee termination which without one month notice. How to calculate the penalty?

contract workers who are entitled to socso but are not provided for
where is the avenue for them to seek help

Great! The Employment Act also requires that this written contract of service include a paragraph describing how either party may end the contract. Thank you.

Hi Marcus, Could you quote on the employment law that covers the Front Liners in general, and niche it into duty during lockdown. This would greatly help those abang polis on duty during the MCO, hoteliers, front desk officers and hospital/hospitality worker.

recently have tender my 24 hours resignation notice and in my offer letter nothing stated about notice period can HR sue me against ? my pay is above 5k, hr said already started in hand book but not regarding the notice period but it was not acknowledge by me….. kindly advise. thanks
muniandy

I have been unfairly treated by this company without a reason and failed to asses the email beforehand I have provided this company with. I have been working for 2 years in this company with no epf&socso and I work overtime. The company have failed to provide me with trainings as well as they keep changing my position as they like without my concern. Whenever I speak Tomy MD he failed to act upon but use my personal information to take leverage upon me. I have been taken completely advantage by this company and this company have been delaying each time when I speak about my confirmation. For 2 years not only they have not provided me with a confirmation letter but also changing my positioned profession to their accordance. I need some guidance on this.

Hi Marcus, just curious, are you still required to work as usual after serving the resignation notice or just finalize handovers?

Hi, Thanks for taking your time to read this.
Im writing in to ask if employers are allowed to 1) include the extension of the resignation period by 1 week on top of the 3 month resignation notice that has been included in the employment contract
2) reject the option of buying out by the employee
3) assign labour work to staff which are not hired for labour purposes such as moving of stock during stock checking as the staff is hired as an accountant
4) force(or verbally threatening the lack of teamwork) the staff to attend motivation training(which are by no means related to skill growth of the staff in any form) in languages which are not understood by the staff This is in reference to a practice of a company that my wife works for as we are trying to find an option where she can resign with a slightly short period of notice rather than 3 months in the employment contract. Diplomatic negotiations to shorten the period of notice have failed and that have caused the loss of opportunity with several companies which were looking to hire my wife. Thank you again for reading through this.

I’d worked in my current company for over 10 years. Previously signed a confirmation letter and had to wait 6 months notice to leave. It has now been 2 months since I submitted my resignation letter. The boss has verbally promised to let me leave early if I finish my part of the job, but now it seems to be Never End Story. I have been forced by the company to do work that is not within my job scoops。。。。
What can I do to get out of my job early, apart from paying the company money?

Hi, I wish to enquire re Section 15(2) of the EA where an employee has been absent from work for more than 2 consecutive days without notifying the employer is considered as breach of contract.
(1) what is the status of the employee in the company for this breach of contract?
(2) or can this be considered as voluntarily resign by the employee?
(2) or can it be treated as automatic termination of work? Your reply is appreciated.
Thank you

Insightful!
However, can a company change their sales rep commission scheme without notifying their sales rep?
So, I joined this company, and they have shared with me their comm plan. While I chase my sales and finally hit my target and the projected revenue overall, they suddenly change the comm plan.
The incentive that I was aiming at, now gone.
FYI, I finally got my confirmation after being delayed for 3 months. Is this allowed?

Hi wanna check if I am force to take a professional course and i have resigned before completing the course, can employer ask me to pay back the fee incurred?

Hi, if an employee has fully utilised the 22 days of sick leave (employee has been employed for more than 5 years) during the year due to 2 times of Covid19+ & normal sick. Does the employee still entitle additional days of paid sick leave, other than the 22 days?

if my employment under company ABC and the owner of business sell over the company company DEF. after 1 year , company DEF decided to move every employee employed under ABC to DEF by signing the new employment letter with observed all the term& condition from previous ABC company.
1. May i say this is change of ownership in term of employment law? Employment ( termination and lay-off benefits) regulation 1980, (8) – change of ownership of employees?
2. Do you think employee from ABC will possible claim termination benefit if refuse to transfer employment to DEF although the address are same?

I have given one month notice to my company and have two earned pro-rate leave. However, they only paid me 28 days salary and considered the two days earned leave is already add up in the one month salary. What I do understand is that the one month notice is served and I should lawfully have one month pay instead of 28 days only and they mentioned the two days leave is paid in the one month salary already irrespective whether the cut off date of the pay roll is on the 20th or 30th of the month.
I have checked with the Labour Office and they have the same thoughts as me. I even checked with my present company HR, they also has the same answers as me but the problem is that they deny that I only worked 28 days. Guys, please give me your thoughts and opinion on this. Thank you.

i am retiring at minimum retirement age of 60 but not notice has been served to me. What should I do. Can I continue working assuming that the company still wants my service.

If your contract of service states that your retirement is at 60 years, you shall retire at 60 years. Technically there is no need for another letter. However it has been a good HR practice to issue a letter of retirement thanking the employee for his past services. In the event you continue working because you did not receive any letter, the Company will then stop you.

It is really a great work and the way in which you are sharing the knowledge is excellent. Thanks for your informative article

The termination clauses in my Employment Letter does NOT have this clause “Either party may terminate the employment by serving ___ months notice, or ___ months’ pay in lieu of notice.” My notice period is 3 months. I intend to buyout 2 months penalty. Can my current employer reject?

The termination clause in my Employment Letter does not include “Either party may terminate the employment by serving 3 months notice, or 3 months’ pay in lieu of notice.” I intend to buyout 2 months penalty. Can my employer reject my buyout even when I am willing to pay the penalty?

Do u have to get the reply? I’m also facing such issue whereby the employer not willing to let me off although I want to pay for one month and serve the notice one month which total 2 month or in lieu of. Can we insist and fight for the in lieu of wording? As my current company they don’t even bother about the in lieu and keep want to serve full notice

Do u have to get the reply? I’m also facing such issue whereby the employer not willing to let me off although I want to pay for one month and serve the notice one month which total 2 month or in lieu of. Can we insist and fight for the in lieu of wording? As my current company they don’t even bother about the in lieu and keep want to serve full notice

What is the standard notice period for resignation if in the offer didn’t mention anything about it ? For staff which is still under probation ?

If there is a clause in my Contract stating that there can be no termination of contract within the first 3 years. Termination can only be done starting from the 4th year.
In this situation can I still terminate the Contract within the first 3 years by giving sufficient amount of time of notice?
To put it in simple words is it legal for a contract of service to have no termination for 3 years?

What should we do if a member of the staff requests to work for an international company that offers a low salary and no fixed allowance?

Can the employer terminate staff on long sick leave issued by hospital arising from motorbike accident. The staff was on medical leave since Jan 2022 until now and he can’t ascertain when can be back to work when asked. We have the following termination clause in his appointment letter”- Termination by Company in certain events Your service with the Company may be terminated by the Company without prior notice if you shall at any time:- (a) Be incapacitated or prevented by illness, injury, accident or any other circumstances beyond your control from discharging in full your duties for a period exceeding one (1) months. (b) Be guilty of grave misconduct or willful neglect in the discharge of duties. (c) Failure to abide by any of the Company’s rules and regulations. Provided always that after your confirmation, employment may be terminated by the company at any time giving you one (1) month notice or paying one (1) months’ salary in lieu thereof. Likewise, you are also required to give one (1) months notice to that effect or paying one (1) months’ salary in lieu thereof. In the event that you are found to have committed gross misconduct, the Company reserves the right to terminate you without notice or payment in lieu of notice.

Can a senior manager of a company disclose the status of a staff (father has passed away) to company suppliers to ask for wreath and condolence money without discuss with the company affairs?

Is it legal for a company to payout salary increment to employees but without issuing a formal letter?

Hi,
We have a employee resigned today, 28-Apr-2023. In his employment contract, we have included the following clause : – Clause 4 Notice of Termination or Payment in Lieu of Notice
During probation period, either party is required to serve seven days written notice or pay seven pays wages in lieu of such notice. After confirmation, the termination notice period is one calendar month, or payment equal to one calendar month’s wages in lieu of such notice. Clause 5
B. With notice
Subject to clause 4 Your employment may be terminated by either party, giving the other , one(1) month of notice in writing or payment in the amount in lieu of notice required.
The Company will decide whether you will be required to serve full notice, part notice or no notice depending on management’s decision. So question the company decided that employee do not need to serve notice although employee insist to get pay with this 1(one) month notice that he is willing to serve. Can Company don’t pay and ask employee no need to serve notice and leave immediately?

Hi Marcus, If we are not a confirmed staff, if we were to resign what is the shortest notice period that we can provide to the company ? or is there any standard

What are the benefits probation staff can enjoy?
No Annual Leave
Unpaid Leave (Limited based on company’s discretion?
Medical Leave (Limited based on company’s discretion?
EPF , Socco , EIS ?

My role was made redundant in early March and I have been paid ˜50% of the total package 5days after my last day. The remaining they said will be with held pending tax clearance. I have a resident pass and not leaving the country. It has been more than 2months and I have not recieved the rest of my pay. They are claiming it is still pending tax clearance, which I know should just be 14days. How long should my employer hold my remaining redundancy pay?

Hi Marcus I have submitted resignation on 2nd May and will serve 3 months notice until 2nd Aug. And recently I have received an offer from a company who intended to buy me out for a month thus, my serving notice is estimated to be shorten to 2nd July. Im writing in to ask if employers are allowed to reject the option of buying out with a reason stating that buy out option requires agreement from respective manager. Diplomatic negotiations to shorten the period of notice likely to be unsuccessful and that may cause the loss of my future opportunity. The contract reads as 1. Nothing shall be taken to prevent either the employer or employee from waiving their right to a notice. Either party may waive their right to the applicable notice set out in 3 months by paying to other party an indemnity of a sum equal to the amount of wages which would have accrued to the employee during the term of such notice or during the unexpired term of such notice, and in which event, the termination shall take effect from the date of notice of waiver. 2. All voluntary termination by employee must be accepted by their respective People Manager. Upon the acceptance of each voluntary termination, a letter acknowledging the termination will be issued to the employee stipulating the required notice period to be served by the employee in relation to the termination. 3. Either the company or you may, at the time, terminate the agreement by giving 3 months prior written notice, provided that if such notice is given by you, the company shall have a right to waive the notice of termination or any part thereof under this agreement at any time prior to the expiry of the applicable notice period. The company may also terminate this agreement by paying you salary in lieu of written notice, or place you on garden leave for all or any part of the applicable notice period. Thank you for taking time to read this. I really appreciate your help.

Hi , As employer currently use our personal phone to perform company collaboration and including weekend on-call support and night time on-call support , We have been forced to use our personal phone and there is no allowance are provided for this support . Kindly let me know this is against our Malaysian Labour law.

Hi Marcus, Is there any labour law that governs the employment of an individual 60yrs and above?
Will he/she be employed under a contracted agreement? What are the hidden factors in this way of employment or is it normally straightforward? Any terms and conditions? Advanced thanks for your guidance Warm regards,
Anitha

I am an expat worker, worked here under employment pass. I got terminated stating poor performance based on 3 topics, which there were no question asked during interview. Was given 3 months performance improvement period to prove my ability. But no training provided. I had to prepare myself during the period. I asked them to help me or provide any training multiple times, but they kept on saying that they don’t see any improvement and did not provide any training. Finally terminated after 2 months. Stating company has rights to terminate any employee when ever they wanted and it is mentioned in the offer letter. I was asked to leave the country in a short span. How can an expat like me file a case against the organisation now?. I don’t stay in this country, i checked with the layers in my country and they are helpless. When they hired they didn’t give me the pay I asked for, instead they proudly narrated about the job security in this well known German MNC which is known for logistics business. After joining, there was not much job for me and they were unable to move me into any other team too. Since I was under probation, they utilised the situation and played a well narrated drama. I want to file a complaint against this company. But not sure how much the labour court in this country will support a foreigner.

Regarding sick leaves, my employer prorated the medical leave I am allowed to take e.g. only 2 days if I have served 2 months. Is that legal?

My company is asking us to sign code of conduct but no training was provided to the staff to clarify the terms. We have been given a deadline to sign.
Can we indicate under our signature that no training was provided?

Notice period, which to follow? The offer letter indicated notice period is two (2) months, signed date on 27th August 2022. However in the company system showed one (1) month. The NEW system activated on 1st Dec 2022. May I know which to follow? Even until now the system still showed notice period is one (1) month. The NEW system covered most of the stuff such as KPI, performance review, company info and employee files.

I ‘m in a situation where there was a merger between two countries, Malaysia and SIngapore where with this merger, they, the company of new structure only might require a single person to do the job and not two. They have made me report to the new head and I’m no more reporting to the GM directly. There was a message from the GM to me, to look for another job but this was done casually. They have plan to bring in another role that will compliment the current new person in-charge. That makes my position redundant and make me feel not so significant anymore.
What is the advice, should I leave or wait for the company to discuss on my fate.
Thanks.