Who Counts As A Workman
You earn above the usual salary cutoff and wonder if that changes your rights.
Workman is one of those legal words that sounds like it excludes office staff, but in Malaysian dismissal law it means something broader than the everyday sense of the word.
What It Means
It is the term the Industrial Relations Act uses for an employee protected by its rules, including the right to challenge a dismissal as unfair through Section 20.
This protection is separate from the Employment Act, which sets baseline entitlements like notice and leave, and historically applied only up to a salary threshold before 2023 reforms widened its coverage.1
Why It Matters To You
A worker can still bring an unfair dismissal claim even where certain Employment Act benefit provisions do not directly apply to their specific pay level, because the two laws serve different purposes.
This distinction matters most for higher earners, who sometimes assume their salary puts them outside protection, when in fact the unfair dismissal route usually still applies to them.
Does Your Job Title Change Anything
Job titles like manager or executive do not automatically remove you from protection. What matters more is the substance of your role and whether you were genuinely making independent company decisions.
If you are unsure where you stand, read about unfair dismissal generally, and check your filing window on the deadline calculator regardless of your salary level.
A lawyer can confirm quickly whether your specific role and pay affect anything in your case.
Telling us your job title and what you actually did day to day helps us explain how this term applies to your situation.
Common questions
Does earning a high salary block me from claiming unfair dismissal?
No. The Industrial Relations Act's protection against unfair dismissal is not limited by salary in the way some Employment Act benefits are, so a high earner can still generally bring a claim.
Are managers excluded from being a workman?
Some senior executive roles with real decision-making power can raise arguments about coverage, which is a fact-specific question. Most managerial staff are still treated as workmen for this purpose.
Sources
- Employment Act 1955 amendments in force from 1 January 2023 extended statutory coverage to all employees regardless of wage, while the unfair dismissal route under Section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act is a separate protection covering workmen regardless of salary. Malay Mail, Employment Act 1955 Amendment 2022
Keep reading
Telling us your job title and what you actually did day to day helps us explain how this term applies to your situation.