Employment Act · 2026 Revised Edition · Part · Rest Days, Hours of Work, Holidays and Other Conditions of Service
63. Rest days
In plain English
Not legal advice
Every employee gets a rest day of one whole day each week: Sunday or the employer's chosen day. Shift workers may instead get a continuous period of 30 hours. If it starts before 6.00 p.m. on a Sunday, it counts for that week even if it ends later. Before the month begins, the employer must roster the days it picks.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
Every employee shall be allowed, in each week, a rest day of one whole day which shall be Sunday or such other day as the employer may determine.
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;
The employer may substitute any continuous period of 30 hours as a rest day for an employee engaged in shift work.
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;
Where in any week a continuous period of 30 hours commencing at any time before 6.00 p.m. on a Sunday is substituted as a rest day for an employee engaged in shift work, such rest day is deemed to have been granted within that week notwithstanding that the period of 30 hours ends after that week.
week
“week” means a continuous period of 7 days commencing at midnight on Sunday.
Where the rest days of an employee are determined by the employer, the employer shall, before the commencement of the month in which the rest days fall, prepare or cause to be prepared a roster of the days appointed to be rest days therein.
Terms defined in this Act
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;
shift work
Defined · s 2“shift work” means work which by reason of its nature requires to be carried on continuously by two or more shifts;
week
Defined · s 68“week” means a continuous period of 7 days commencing at midnight on Sunday.
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