What Notice And Pay Are You Owed?
Your job is ending, and the law sets a floor for what you are owed.
Notice and termination pay follow different rules from an unfair dismissal claim, and it helps to know both. This page sets out what the Employment Act covers and where the two routes separate.
What does the Employment Act actually cover?
The Employment Act 1955 sets minimum standards for notice and termination benefits for the employees it covers. Since its 2022 amendments took effect, coverage extends to all employees regardless of wage. Certain provisions, including hours and overtime, stay limited to those earning RM4,000 a month or less.1
Notice and termination benefits sit outside that RM4,000 line, so most employees can look to the Act for these entitlements specifically.
What notice are you owed?
Your contract or offer letter usually sets your notice period, and the Act applies if it stays silent. The exact length depends on how long you worked there, so check your own letter or contract first rather than assuming a figure.
If your employer pays you in place of working the notice period, that payment should reflect what you would have earned during it.
What termination benefits could apply?
Beyond notice, the Act also sets minimum termination benefits for some categories of dismissal, again scaled to length of service. Not every dismissal qualifies, so this is worth checking against your specific reason for leaving.
These benefits are separate from anything a court might later award in an unfair dismissal claim.
How is this different from an unfair dismissal claim?
Notice and termination benefits are statutory entitlements you can pursue regardless of whether your dismissal was fair. An unfair dismissal claim under Section 20 is a different route entirely, open to workers at any salary. It asks a different question: whether you had just cause and a fair process, not just whether you were paid correctly on the way out.
You can pursue both where they apply; one does not cancel the other.
What if you are being retrenched, not just let go?
If your job is ending because of retrenchment or redundancy, selection is expected to follow Last In First Out unless your employer can justify departing from it. The redundancy itself must be genuine.2 A retrenchment that looks like cover for something else is worth questioning.
What should you check this week?
Compare your notice and any termination payment against your contract, and note anything that looks short. If you also believe the dismissal itself was unfair, you still have 60 days from the date it took effect to lodge a claim.3
Gather your contract, payslips and dismissal letter, and work out your exact deadline if that route applies to you too.
Notice and termination pay are usually simple to check once your contract and last payslip are in front of you. Send us those details and we can help you see if the numbers add up, and whether more may be owed.
Common questions
Do I still get notice pay if I was dismissed for misconduct?
Usually not. Summary dismissal for serious misconduct can remove the right to notice, though your employer still needs to show the misconduct was serious enough to justify that. It is worth checking your specific situation against this.
How long is my notice period exactly?
It depends on your contract or offer letter, and the Act's minimums apply if that is silent. Length of service is usually the main factor, so check what your own document says before assuming a figure.
Can my employer just tell me to leave immediately without notice?
Only by paying you in place of the notice period, or where summary dismissal for serious misconduct genuinely applies. If neither applies, missing notice is worth raising, since it is a separate issue from whether the dismissal itself was fair.
I was retrenched. Does that affect my notice and benefits?
Retrenchment does not remove your notice and termination benefits; if anything, it usually comes with its own additional benefits under your contract or the Act. Selection for retrenchment should also follow a fair, justified process.
Should I chase notice pay or an unfair dismissal claim first?
They are not either or, since both can apply to the same dismissal. Notice and termination pay are usually simpler to check quickly, while an unfair dismissal claim has its own strict 60-day deadline worth confirming early.
Sources
- The 2022 amendments to the Employment Act 1955, in force since 1 January 2023, extend statutory coverage to all employees regardless of wage, with Part XII (hours, overtime, rest days) limited to those earning RM4,000 a month or less. Malay Mail, Employment Act 1955 Amendment 2022
- The conventional, objective principle for selecting who is retrenched is Last In First Out; an employer may depart from it but must justify the departure with sound reasons, and any retrenchment must be for a genuine redundancy. Richard Wee Chambers, 5 Points on the Law of Retrenchment in Malaysia
- An employee who considers they were dismissed without just cause or excuse may make a written representation to the Director General of Industrial Relations within 60 days of the dismissal (Section 20, Industrial Relations Act 1967). Mah Weng Kwai & Associates, Unfair Dismissal
Keep reading
Notice and termination pay are usually simple to check once your contract and last payslip are in front of you. Send us those details and we can help you see if the numbers add up, and whether more may be owed.