EMPLOYMENT ACT 1955

Employment 1 LAWS OF MALAYSIA REPRINT Act 265 EMPLOYMENT ACT 1955 As at 1 August 2023 PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIA UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968 2023 WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 1 04/10/2023 5:25 PM 2 Act 265 Laws of Malaysia EMPLOYMENT ACT 1955 First enacted … … … … 1955 (F.M. Ordinance No. 38 of 1955) Revised … … … … 1981 (Act 265 w.e.f. 18 February 1982) Latest amendment made by Act A1651 which came into operation on … … 1 January 2023 Previous Reprints WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 2 First Reprint ... ... ... 1975 Second Reprint ... ... ... 2001 Third Reprint ... ... ... 2006 04/10/2023 5:25 PM Employment 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 265 EMPLOYMENT ACT 1955 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Part I PRELIMINARY Section 1. Short title and application 2. Interpretation 2a. Minister may prohibit employment other than under contract of service 2b. General power to exempt or exclude 3. Appointment of officers 4. Appeals 5. Effect on Act of other written laws Part II CONTRACTS OF SERVICE WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 3 6. Saving of existing contracts 7. More favourable conditions of service under the Act to prevail 7a. Validity of any term or condition of service which is more favourable 7b. Removal of doubt in respect of matters not provided for by or under this Act 8. Contracts of service not to restrict rights of employees to join, participate in or organize trade unions 9. (Deleted) 10. Contracts to be in writing and to include provision for termination 11. Provision as to termination of contracts 12. Notice of termination of contract 04/10/2023 5:25 PM 4 Laws of Malaysia Act 265 Section 13. Termination of contract without notice 14. Termination of contract for special reasons 15. When contract is deemed to be broken by employer and employee 16. Employees on estates to be provided with minimum number of days’ work in each month 17. (Omitted) 17a. Apprenticeship contracts excluded from sections 10 to 16 Part III PAYMENT OF WAGES 18. Wage period 18a. Calculation of wages for incomplete month’s work 19. Time of payment of wages 20. Payment on normal termination of contract 21. Payment on termination of contract in special circumstances and on breach of contract 22. Limitation on advances to employees 23. Wages not due for absence from work through imprisonment or attendance in court Part IV DEDUCTIONS FROM WAGES 24. Lawful deductions Part V SYSTEM OF PAYMENT OF WAGES 25. Wages to be paid through financial institution 25a. Payment of wages other than through financial institution 26. Conditions restricting place at which, manner in which and person with whom wages paid to be spent, illegal 27. Interest on advances forbidden WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 4 04/10/2023 5:25 PM Employment 5 Section 28. Restriction on places at which wages may be paid 29. Remuneration other than wages 30. (Deleted) Part VI PRIORITY OF WAGES 31. Priority of wages over other debts 32. Reference by the court to Director General Part VII PRINCIPALS, CONTRACTORS, SUB-CONTRACTORS AND CONTRACTORS FOR LABOUR 33. Liability of principals and contractors for wages 33a. Information relating to supply of employees Part VIII EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN 34-36. (Deleted) Part IX PREGNANCY AND MATERNITY WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 5 37. Length of eligible period and entitlement to maternity allowance 38. Payment of maternity allowance 39. Payment of allowance to nominee on death of female employee 40. Loss of maternity allowance for failure to notify employer 41. Payment of allowance to nominee 41a. Restriction on termination of pregnant female employee 42. Restriction on termination of female employee after eligible period 43. Conditions contrary to Part void 44. Register of allowances paid 44a. (Deleted) 04/10/2023 5:25 PM 6 Laws of Malaysia Act 265 Part X EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS Section 45-56. (Deleted) Part XI DOMESTIC EMPLOYEES 57. 57a. 57b. Termination of contract Employment of foreign domestic employee Duty to inform Director General of termination of service of foreign domestic employee Part XII REST DAYS, HOURS OF WORK, HOLIDAYS AND OTHER CONDITIONS OF SERVICE 58. (Omitted) 58a. Non-application of Part XII 60. Work on rest day 59. Rest day 60a. Hours of work and working at night 60c. Shift work 60b. 60d. 60e. 60f. 60fa. 60g. 60h. 60i. Task work Holidays Annual leave Sick leave Paternity leave (Omitted) (Omitted) Interpretation Part XIIa TERMINATION, LAY-OFF AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS 60j. WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 6 Termination, lay-off and retirement benefits 04/10/2023 5:25 PM Employment 7 Part XIIb EMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGN EMPLOYEES Section 60k. Employment of foreign employee 60ka. Termination of employment of foreign employee, etc. 60l. (Deleted) 60m. Prohibition on termination of local for foreign employee 60n. Termination of employment by reason of redundancy 60o. Permanent resident exempted from this Part Part XIIc FLEXIBLE WORKING ARRANGEMENT 60p. Flexible working arrangement 60q. Application for flexible working arrangement Part XIII REGISTERS, RETURNS AND NOTICE BOARDS 61. Duty to keep registers 62. Power to make regulations requiring information as to wages 63. Duty to submit returns 63a. Duty to give notice and other information 64. Duty to display notice boards Part XIV INSPECTION WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 7 65. Powers of inspection and inquiry 66. Inspecting officer to notify presence 67. Powers of inspecting officers 68. Officers to be authorized by the Director General 04/10/2023 5:25 PM 8 Laws of Malaysia Act 265 Part XV COMPLAINTS AND INQUIRIES Section 69. Director General’s power to inquire into complaints 69a. Limitation on power conferred by section 69 69b–69e. (Deleted) 69f. Discrimination in employment 70. Procedure in Director General’s inquiry 71. Director General’s record of inquiry 72. Joinder of several complaints in one complaint 73. Prohibitory order by Director General to third party 74. No fees for summons: service of summons 75. Enforcement of Director General’s order by Sessions Court 76. Submission by Director General to High Court on point of law 77. Appeal against Director General’s order to High Court 78. Employee’s remedy when employer about to abscond 79. Powers of Director General to investigate possible offences under this Act 80. Examination on summons by the Director General 81. Right of employee to appear before the Director General Part XVa SEXUAL HARASSMENT WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 8 81a. Interpretation 81b. Inquiry into complaints of sexual harassment 81c. Findings of inquiry by employer 81d. Complaints of sexual harassment made to the Director General 81e. Effects of decisions of the Director General 04/10/2023 5:25 PM Employment 9 Section 81f. Offence 81g. (Deleted) 81h. Notice on sexual harassment Part XVI PROCEDURE 82. Service of summons 83. Power to make reciprocal provisions between Malaysia and Singapore for the service, execution and enforcement of summonses, warrants and orders 84. Jurisdiction 85. Prosecution 85a. Right of audience 86. Saving clause as to civil jurisdiction of courts 87. Power of court imposing fine 87a. Court order for payments due to employee 88. Effect of imprisonment 89. Incapacity of Director General hearing inquiry 90. Officers acting under Act deemed public servants 90a. Protection of officers Part XVII OFFENCES AND PENALTIES 90b. Forced labour 91. Under Parts III and IV 92. Under Part V 93. (Deleted) 94. Under Part IX 95–96. WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 9 (Deleted) 97. Under Part XIII 98. Under Part XIV 99. Under Part XV 04/10/2023 5:25 PM 10 Laws of Malaysia Act 265 Section 99a. General penalty 100. Penalties for failure or non-compliance in relation to rest days, overtime, holidays, annual leave, and sick leave 101. Offence in connection with inquiry or inspection 101a. Power to compound offences 101b. Offence by body corporate, etc. 101c. Presumption as to who is an employee and employer Part XVIII REGULATIONS 102. Regulations Part XIX REPEAL AND SAVING 103. Repeal and saving First Schedule Second Schedule WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 10 04/10/2023 5:25 PM Employment 11 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 265 EMPLOYMENT ACT 1955 An Act relating to employment. [Peninsular Malaysia—1 June 1957, L.N. 228/1957; Federal Territory of Labuan—1 November 2000, P.U. (A) 400/2000] Part I PRELIMINARY Short title and application 1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Employment Act 1955. (2) This Act shall apply to *Peninsular Malaysia only. Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “agricultural undertaking” means any work in which any employee is employed under a contract of service for the purposes of agriculture, horticulture or silviculture, the tending of domestic animals and poultry or the collection of the produce of any plants or trees; “apprentice” means any person who has entered into an apprenticeship contract; *NOTE—This Act has been extended to the Federal Territory of Labuan–see subsection 1(2) of the Federal Territory of Labuan (Extension and Modification of Employment Act) Order 2000 [P.U. (A) 400/2000] w.e.f. 1 November 2000. WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 11 04/10/2023 5:25 PM 12 Laws of Malaysia Act 265 “apprenticeship contract” means a written contract entered into by a person with an employer who undertakes to employ the person and train or have him trained systematically for a trade for a specified period which shall be for a minimum period of six months and a maximum period of twenty four months in the course of which the apprentice is bound to work in the employer’s service; “approved amenity or approved service” means any amenity or service— (a) approved by the Director General under subsection 29(2) on application made to him by an employer for its inclusion in a contract of service; or (b) provided for in any award made by the Industrial Court or in any collective agreement; “approved incentive payment scheme” means an incentive payment scheme approved by the Director General under, and for the purposes of, section 60i; “collective agreement” has the same meaning assigned thereto in the Industrial Relations Act 1967 [Act 177]; “confinement” means parturition resulting after at least twenty-two weeks of pregnancy in the issue of a child or children, whether alive or dead, and shall for the purposes of this Act commence and end on the actual day of birth and where two or more children are born at one confinement shall commence and end on the day of the birth of the last-born of such children, and the word “confined” shall be construed accordingly; “constructional contractor” means any person, firm, corporation or company who or which is established for the purpose of undertaking, either exclusively or in addition to or in conjunction with any other business, any type of constructional work, and who or which is carrying out such constructional work for or on behalf of some other person under a contract entered into by him or them with such other person, and includes his or their heirs, executors, administrators, assignees and successors; WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 12 04/10/2023 5:25 PM Employment 13 “constructional work” includes the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, repair, alteration or demolition of any building, railway, harbour, dock, pier, canal, inland waterway, road, tunnel, bridge, viaduct, sewer, drain, well, dredge, wireless, telegraphic or telephonic installation, electrical undertaking, gaswork, waterwork or other work of construction, as well as the preparation for, or the laying of, the foundations of any such work or structure, and also any earthworks both in excavation and in filling; “contract of