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Note: The Employment Act is not applicable to Sabah and Sarawak, as they have their own Labour Ordinances respectively: Sabah Labour Ordinance and Sarawak Labour Ordinance.
According to the Employment Act 1955, Malaysian employees are entitled to six different kinds of paid annual leave, also known as statutory leave. There are also common non-statutory leaves given as an additional provision. Mandatory and optional leave entitlements are usually outlined in an employment contract under the leave policies section.
Annual leave
An employee’s annual leave entitlement is dependent on their length of service, as follows:
| Length of service | Annual leave entitlement |
| Less than 2 years | 8 days for every year of service |
| 2 to 5 years | 12 days for every year of service |
| More than 5 years | 16 days for every year of service |
It can also be prorated if the employee has worked less than a full year in that calendar year.
However, if an employee is absent from work without permission or reasonable excuse for more than 10% of the working year, their statutory annual leave entitlement for that working year will be forfeited.
Read more: How does annual leave work in Malaysia?
Treatment of unused leave entitlements
Employees will need to utilise their unused annual leave (earned every 12 months of continuous service) within the following 12 months of service. If left unutilised, the leave entitlement will be forfeited.
An employee should check their employment contract and company policy on how unused annual leave will be treated. An employee should be allowed to carry forward any unused annual leave days to the next year in line with the Employment Act minimum requirements.
Existing employees may also choose to encash their unutilised annual leave rather than using them up, if at the request of the employer, the employee agrees in writing not to avail themselves of any or all of their annual leave entitlement. It must be mutually agreed by both parties in writing. However, where an employee ceases employment, an employer must encash any accrued but unused annual leave.
If employees still have unused days of annual leave when they resign, they may use these remaining days to offset their notice period, and bring forward their final day of service. It is, however, dependent on the employer and they have the right to reject an employee’s annual leave application. In such cases, the employee will be entitled to payment in lieu of the annual leave balance.
Overlap of leave periods
Employees are still entitled to sick leave or maternity leave while on annual leave. In applicable cases, the annual leave should be deemed not taken and the alternative leave type should be taken instead.
Public holidays
Employees are entitled to 11 gazetted public holidays, 5 of which must be:
- National Day;
- Birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (The King’s birthday);
- Birthday of the Ruler or the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the state (Head of State) where the employee works, or Federal Territory Day if the employee works in the Federal Territory;
- Worker’s Day/Labour Day; and
- Malaysia Day.
In addition to the 11 gazetted public holidays, employees are also entitled to any public holiday declared under Section 8 of the Holidays Act 1951.
Aside from the 5 required public holidays, the other 6 can be chosen by the employer from the list of gazetted public holidays. Before the start of each calendar year, employers must conspicuously display a notice regarding the remaining 6 chosen public holidays their employees are entitled to. Employers and employees can also mutually agree to using other days as a substitution, for one or more of the 6 chosen public holidays.
If a particular public holiday falls on a rest day or any other public holiday, the next working day immediately thereafter should be recognised as a public holiday in substitution.
If any of the 11 public holidays or substituted days falls within the period during which an employee is on sick or annual leave, the employee is entitled under the EA to be granted another day as a paid holiday, in substitution for the public holiday they missed.
The full list of public holidays in Malaysia for 2024 can be found here.
Sick leave and hospitalisation leave
An employee’s sick leave entitlement is dependent on their length of service, as follows:
| Length of service | Sick leave entitlement |
| Less than 2 years | 14 days per year |
| 2 to 5 years | 18 days per year |
| More than 5 years | 22 days per year |
In cases where hospitalisation is required, employees are entitled to 60 days of hospitalisation leave per year, on top of paid sick leave entitlement above. This must be certified by a registered medical practitioner, officer, or dental surgeon.
Read more: How does sick leave and hospitalisation leave work in Malaysia?
Maternity leave
Female employees are entitled to 98 consecutive days of paid maternity leave. However, it shall not commence earlier than 30 days immediately preceding her confinement, or later than the day immediately following her confinement.
Employees looking to take maternity leave in Malaysia are protected as long as they fulfil the eligibility criteria outlined in the Employment Act:
- They are employed for at least 90 days with nine months to the due date; and
- Have fewer than five children.
An employee may, with the consent of her employer, commence work at any time during paid or unpaid maternity leave if she has been certified fit to resume work by a registered medical practitioner.
If an employee is pregnant or is suffering from an illness arising out of her pregnancy, employers may not terminate her employment, or give her a notice of termination of employment, except on the grounds of:
- Wilful breach of a condition of the contract of service;
- Misconduct; or
- Closure of the employer’s business.
Read more: Employer’s guide to maternity leave in Malaysia
Paternity leave
Married male employees are entitled to 7 consecutive days of paid paternity leave.
To qualify for paternity leave, employees must be:
- Employed by the same employer at least 12 months immediately before the commencement of such paternity leave; and
- Have notified his employer of his spouse’s pregnancy at least thirty days from the expected confinement or as early as possible after the birth.
According to the Malaysian Employment Act, this leave entitlement is limited to the first 5 births, regardless of the number of spouses involved.
Replacement leave or time off in lieu
Malaysian employees are entitled to at least one rest day per week. This is usually on a Sunday, but if the employee has to work on a weekend, they must receive a rest day on a different day of the week, or be paid a minimum of twice their standard hourly wage.
Employees who are not eligible for overtime pay have no legal entitlement to replacement leave, but employers may offer it as an optional employment benefit.
Civil service leave
There are no civil service leave provisions in the Employment Act – there is no need for paid or unpaid leave for jury duty as it was abolished in 1995. However, under Section 25 of the Election Offences Act 1954, employers are required to allow a reasonable amount of time away from work to vote on polling day, without pay deduction or penalty.
Since the legislation on time off to vote does not outline specifics, national election days are often held on weekends, or declared as public holidays if they fall on a weekday.
Compassionate leave or bereavement leave
Compassionate leave lets employees recover from significant life events such as the loss of a loved one, granting them time to grieve before their return to work.
Companies are not required to provide compassionate or bereavement leave to employees — but it is common practice for most companies to outline this provision in employment contracts as part of a mutual agreement between employers and employees.
Even if compassionate leave is not mentioned in any documentation, employers may still choose to grant the leave if requested by the employee.
Employers typically offer two to five days of paid or unpaid compassionate leave, but it differs from employer to employer. The number of days provided can also vary, depending on the employee’s relationship to the deceased family member.
Read more: How does compassionate and bereavement leave work in Malaysia?
Emergency leave
While it is not mandatory for employers to provide emergency leave, some companies allocate two to three days per year for their employees. An application for annual leave normally requires at least several days’ notice to make time for work planning and leave approvals. Emergency leave however, lets employees take time off from work to handle personal affairs on short notice.
Employers who offer this type of leave usually have specific requirements:
- The employee must have a valid reason, such as caring for a sick family member or meeting with a minor accident; and
- The employee should inform or attempt to inform the employer of these unforeseen circumstances.
Once this leave provision has been exhausted, subsequent absences can be deducted from the employee’s annual leave balance or be considered unpaid leave.
Unpaid leave
Employees who have exhausted their paid leave entitlements may have the option to take unpaid leave, meaning time off from work without regular pay or salary. Since this type of leave is not covered in the Employment Act, unpaid leave is not a mandatory provision.
Gardening leave
Gardening leave applies when an employer asks an employee not to come into work during their notice period while still keeping them on company payroll. This is often done to protect the organisation’s privacy and business interests. There is no specific legislation regarding gardening leave in Malaysia, so it is generally governed by the terms agreed upon in the employment contract.
Sabbatical leave
Sabbaticals are a break from work, often taken after an employee has worked at an organisation for some time, and the employee remains employed during the entire leave period. While sabbatical leave is an optional leave benefit, it can be fully paid, partially paid or unpaid – it all depends on what is written in the employment contract.
Adoption leave
Parental leave is enshrined in the Employment Act as a mandatory leave entitlement, but this only covers parents that are having a biological child. Adoption leave is not a covered provision for Malaysian employees, so any allocations for this type of leave are offered as a supplementary benefit by the employer.
Childcare leave
With this type of leave, employees can take time off work to care for their children. While parental leave is a mandatory leave entitlement in Malaysia, both maternity and paternity leave only apply to the time period right after an infant is born. Hence, childcare leave is a bonus optional leave offered by employers at their discretion.
Carer’s leave
Carer’s leave is granted to employees with caregiving responsibilities for a family member or dependent, such as an elderly parent or close relative. Since there are no currently specified carer’s leave benefits in the Malaysian Employment Act, providing this type of leave is optional for employers.
Marriage leave
In some cultures, wedding ceremonies and celebrations can be a multi-day affair, especially for the ones getting married. While marriage leave is not compulsory, many Malaysian employers often provide employees with a few days off to participate in the festivities.
Pilgrimage leave
Also known as umrah leave or haji leave, some organisations offer paid or unpaid leave for Muslim employees planning to participate in Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. While this leave is not mandatory under the Employment Act, it’s a nice employee benefit for the private sector as the Malaysian population is mostly Muslim.
Muslim and non-Muslim permanent civil service employees have the right to take up to 7 days of unrecorded leave at once for religious reasons, limited to once in their tenure.
Study leave
Study leave lets employees take time off work to attend or prepare for courses, certifications and exams that will add to their expertise and benefit the organisation. There is no provision for this type of leave in the Malaysian Employment Act, but some employers offer it alongside career development opportunities and benefits.
Volunteer leave
Some employers now offer optional paid leave for employees to participate in volunteering activities. Not only does it support employees who want to contribute to society, it also emphasises its values as an organisation, boosting its reputation.
There is no legal entitlement for volunteer leave, but companies can include this provision under their corporate social responsibility agenda to encourage employee participation.
Disaster leave
While Malaysia is thankfully spared from most natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, floods are still a regular occurrence. Employers may opt to offer disaster leave for employees who are affected by flooding. There is no statutory entitlement for disaster leave.
Relevant legislation
