Employment Act · 2026 Revised Edition · Part · Payment of Salaries
50. Deductions not to exceed 50 per cent of salary
In plain English
Not legal advice
Total deductions an employer makes from the salary of an employee in any one salary period may not exceed 50 per cent of that salary. Some deductions under another section do not count toward this limit. The limit does not apply to deductions from the last salary due when a contract of service is terminated or completed.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
The total amount of all deductions made from the salary of an employee by an employer in any one salary period, other than deductions under section 45(1)(a), (f), (g) or (j), shall not exceed 50 per cent of the salary payable to the employee in respect of that period.
salary
“salary” means all remuneration including allowances payable to an employee in respect of work done under his contract of service, but does not include — (a) the value of any accommodation or the supply of any food, fuel, electricity, water or medical attendance, or of any amenity or service excluded by order of the Minister published in the Gazette; (b) any contribution paid by the employer on his own account to any pension fund or provident fund; (c) any travelling allowance or the value of any travelling concession; (d) any sum paid to the employee to reimburse him for special expenses incurred by him in the course of his employment; (e) any gratuity payable on discharge or retirement; and (f) any retrenchment benefit payable on retrenchment;
Subsection (1) does not apply to deductions made from the last salary due to an employee on termination of his contract of service or on completion of his contract of service.
employee
“employee” means a person who has entered into or who works under a contract of service with an employer, and includes a workman and any public officer or employee of the Government included in a category, class or description of such officers or employees declared by the Minister, with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan, to be employees for the purposes of this Act or any Part thereof; but does not include any seaman, domestic worker or any person employed in a managerial, executive or confidential position or any person belonging to any other class of person whom the Minister, with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan, may by notification published in the Gazette, declare not to be employees for the purposes of this Act;
Terms defined in s 2
contract of service
Defined · s 2“contract of service” means, subject to section 10, any agreement, whether in writing or oral and whether express or implied, whereby one person agrees to employ another as an employee and that other agrees to serve him as an employee, and includes a contract of apprenticeship;
employee
Defined · s 2“employee” means a person who has entered into or who works under a contract of service with an employer, and includes a workman and any public officer or employee of the Government included in a category, class or description of such officers or employees declared by the Minister, with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan, to be employees for the purposes of this Act or any Part thereof; but does not include any seaman, domestic worker or any person employed in a managerial, executive or confidential position or any person belonging to any other class of person whom the Minister, with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan, may by notification published in the Gazette, declare not to be employees for the purposes of this Act;
employer
Defined · s 2“employer” means any person who employs another person under a contract of service and includes — (a) the Government, in respect of such categories, classes or descriptions of public officers or employees of the Government as are declared by the Minister, with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan, to be employees for the purposes of this Act; (b) any statutory body; (c) the duly authorised agent or manager of the employer; (d) the person who owns or is carrying on or for the time being responsible for the management of the profession, business, trade or work in which the employee is engaged;
salary
Defined · s 2“salary” means all remuneration including allowances payable to an employee in respect of work done under his contract of service, but does not include — (a) the value of any accommodation or the supply of any food, fuel, electricity, water or medical attendance, or of any amenity or service excluded by order of the Minister published in the Gazette; (b) any contribution paid by the employer on his own account to any pension fund or provident fund; (c) any travelling allowance or the value of any travelling concession; (d) any sum paid to the employee to reimburse him for special expenses incurred by him in the course of his employment; (e) any gratuity payable on discharge or retirement; and (f) any retrenchment benefit payable on retrenchment;
Part
Principals and Contractors
Part
Truck System
Part
Rest Days, Hours of Work, Holidays and Other Conditions of Service
Part
Health, Accommodation and Medical Care
Part
Part-Time Employees
Part
Employment of Women
Part
Employment of Children and Young Persons
Part
Domestic Workers
Part
Immigrant Employees
Part
Repatriation
Part
Inspection
Part
Complaints and Inquiries
Part