Employment Act · 2026 Revised Edition · Part · Principals and Contractors
53. Liability of principals and contractors for salary
In plain English
Not legal advice
If a principal contracts with a contractor for labour or work in its business, the principal, contractor and any sub-contractor are jointly and severally liable with the employer for salary due to a workman. This liability is limited to salary earned in one month. Proceedings must start within 60 days of the salary falling due, unless the commissioner allows longer.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
Where a principal in the course of his trade or business —
principal
“principal” means any person who, in the course of or for the purposes of his profession, business, trade or work, contracts with a contractor for the supply of labour or for execution by the contractor of the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the principal;
contracts with a contractor for —
the supply of labour; or
the execution by or under the contractor, of the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the principal;
and
any salary is due to any workman by the contractor or any sub-contractor under the contractor, for labour supplied or for work done in the course of the execution of such work,
Employment the principal, the contractor and any such sub-contractor, not being the employer, shall be jointly and severally liable with the employer to pay the workman as if the workman had been immediately employed by him.
Where salary is claimed from the principal, this Act, with the exception of section 51, applies as if a reference to the principal were substituted for the reference to the employer, except that salary claimed shall be calculated with reference to the salary of the workman under the employer by whom he was immediately employed.
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;
No principal, contractor or sub-contractor, not being the employer, shall be jointly and severally liable to any workman under subsection (1) or (2) for more than the salary earned in one month for the work done by the employer.
contractor
“contractor” means any person who contracts with a principal to supply labour or to carry out the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the principal in the course of or for the purposes of the principal’s trade or business;
In the case of a contract of service for constructional work, the principal is not liable for the payment of salary under subsection (1) or (2)
contract of service
“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;
unless he is also a constructional contractor.
The workman shall institute proceedings for the recovery of his salary within 60 days or such longer period as the Commissioner may allow from the date on which the salary became due for payment in accordance with the provisions for the payment of salary in Part 4.
workman
“workman” means — (a) any person who has entered into a contract of service with an employer in pursuance of which he is engaged in manual labour, including any artisan or apprentice, but excluding any seaman or domestic worker; (b) any person, other than clerical staff, employed in the operation or maintenance of mechanically-propelled vehicles used Employment for the transport of passengers for hire or for commercial purposes; (c) any person employed partly for manual labour and partly for the purpose of supervising in person any workman in and throughout the performance of his work: Provided that when any person is employed by any one employer partly as a workman and partly in some other capacity or capacities, that person is deemed for the purposes of this Act to be a workman unless it can be established that the time during which he has been required to work as a workman in any one salary period as defined in Part 4 has on no occasion amounted to or exceeded one-half of the total time during which he has been required to work in such salary period; (d) any other person specified in Schedule 1; (e) any person whom the Minister may, by notification published in the Gazette, declare to be a workman for the purposes of this Act.
A claim for salary under this section shall be made in the manner provided for in Part 16.
Nothing in this section shall prevent any principal, contractor or sub-contractor, not being the employer, who, as the result of a claim made under this section, has paid any salary to a workman from instituting civil proceedings for the recovery of the amount of that salary so paid from the employer of that workman.
sub-contractor
“sub-contractor” means any person who contracts with a contractor for the supply of labour or for the execution by the sub-contractor of the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the contractor for his principal, and includes any person who contracts with a sub-contractor to supply labour or to carry out the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the sub-contractor for a contractor;
Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to prevent a workman from recovering salary under this Act from his employer instead of the principal, contractor or sub-contractor.
employer
“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;
The reference to principal in this section shall include the
Government and a statutory body.
Employment 42
Terms defined in s 2
Commissioner
Defined · s 2“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Labour appointed under section 3(1);
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;
contractor
Defined · s 2“contractor” means any person who contracts with a principal to supply labour or to carry out the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the principal in the course of or for the purposes of the principal’s trade or business;
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;
principal
Defined · s 2“principal” means any person who, in the course of or for the purposes of his profession, business, trade or work, contracts with a contractor for the supply of labour or for execution by the contractor of the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the principal;
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;
sub-contractor
Defined · s 2“sub-contractor” means any person who contracts with a contractor for the supply of labour or for the execution by the sub-contractor of the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the contractor for his principal, and includes any person who contracts with a sub-contractor to supply labour or to carry out the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the sub-contractor for a contractor;
workman
Defined · s 2“workman” means — (a) any person who has entered into a contract of service with an employer in pursuance of which he is engaged in manual labour, including any artisan or apprentice, but excluding any seaman or domestic worker; (b) any person, other than clerical staff, employed in the operation or maintenance of mechanically-propelled vehicles used Employment for the transport of passengers for hire or for commercial purposes; (c) any person employed partly for manual labour and partly for the purpose of supervising in person any workman in and throughout the performance of his work: Provided that when any person is employed by any one employer partly as a workman and partly in some other capacity or capacities, that person is deemed for the purposes of this Act to be a workman unless it can be established that the time during which he has been required to work as a workman in any one salary period as defined in Part 4 has on no occasion amounted to or exceeded one-half of the total time during which he has been required to work in such salary period; (d) any other person specified in Schedule 1; (e) any person whom the Minister may, by notification published in the Gazette, declare to be a workman for the purposes of this Act.
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