Malaysia Annual Leave Calculator
Work out how many days of paid annual leave an employee in Malaysia is entitled to under current law. Choose the years of service and the months worked this year to see the full-year entitlement and the pro-rated days, rounded to whole days.
- Employment Act 1955
- Section 60E: annual leave
- Employment (Amendment) Act 2022
The employee
Continuous years of service with the same employer.
Completed months of service this year. A full year is 12.
Employment Act 1955: 8, 12 or 16 days a year by years of service (Section 60E), pro-rated by completed months and rounded to the nearest whole day.
Results
Minimum paid annual leave under the Employment Act
- Earned this year: 8.00 days
| Statutory entitlementLess than 2 years | 8 days/year |
|---|---|
| Months worked | 12 of 12 |
| Annual leave this year | 8 days |
This is the statutory minimum. Employers are free to offer more. See how each figure is worked out.
Other paid leave
For an employee with less than 2 years of service
| Sick leaveWithout hospitalisation | 14 days a year |
|---|---|
| Public holidaysGazetted, separate from annual leave | 11 days a year |
| Maternity leaveConsecutive days, fully paid | 98 days |
| Paternity leaveAfter 12 months of service | 7 days |
Annual leave is separate from public holidays and sick leave. For who qualifies for parental leave, read our guide to maternity and paternity leave in Malaysia.
Hiring in Malaysia through RecruitGo
No Sdn Bhd needed. We employ them for you.
- Contracts under the Employment Act 1955, plus EPF, SOCSO and EIS registration
- Annual leave and sick leave tracked for every employee
- Payroll by the 7th of each month, PCB withheld and remitted, annual EA forms
EOR fee: 15% of total monthly payroll or USD 99, whichever is higher, per employee per month.
How it is computed
How this number was worked out
Each figure above, worked out for less than 2 years of service and 12 months worked this year.
Full-year entitlement
- Years of service: less than 2 years.
- Section 60E sets 8 days of paid annual leave for a full year at this length of service.
- It rises to 12 days after 2 years of continuous service, and to 16 days after 5 years.
Source: Employment Act 1955, Section 60E.
Pro-rating
- All 12 months of the year were worked, so nothing is pro-rated.
- 8 days ÷ 12 × 12 months = 8.00 days.
Source: Employment Act 1955: leave for an incomplete year is pro-rated by completed months.
Rounding
- 8.00 days is already a whole number, so nothing is rounded.
- Annual leave this year: 8 days.
Source: Malaysian practice: fractions of 0.5 or more round up to the nearest whole day.
Legal Reference
Employment Act 1955 — Annual Leave Entitlements
Section 60E of the Employment Act 1955 sets the minimum annual leave entitlements for employees in Malaysia. The entitlement is based on continuous years of service with the same employer:
For a worked example of pro-rating, and what employees can do with unused days, read our guide to annual leave in Malaysia.
| Years of Service | Minimum Leave | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 2 yearsYours | 8 days | Entry-level entitlement for new employees |
| 2 to 5 years | 12 days | Increases after completing 2 years of continuous service |
| 5 years and above | 16 days | Maximum statutory minimum after 5 years |
Highlighted: the tier for less than 2 years of service, from the calculator above.
If an employee has not completed 12 months of service in a year, leave is calculated proportionally based on completed months.
Annual leave is separate from public holidays. Malaysia has a minimum of 11 gazetted public holidays per year.
Employees are also entitled to 14-22 days of paid sick leave per year (depending on service length), separate from annual leave.
Pay and hiring in Malaysia
To see what an employee takes home each month after EPF, SOCSO, EIS and PCB, use our Malaysia salary calculator. If you hire in Malaysia without a local entity, our Employer of Record service in Malaysia drafts employment contracts under the Employment Act 1955 and runs payroll every month. If you already have a Sdn Bhd, our payroll service in Malaysia processes monthly payroll in MYR and remits all statutory contributions.
More tools for hiring in Malaysia and Southeast Asia
Frequently Asked Questions
About annual leave in Malaysia
Under the Employment Act 1955, annual leave is based on years of continuous service: 8 days for less than 2 years, 12 days for 2-5 years, and 16 days for 5+ years. If an employee has not completed a full year of service, leave is pro-rated based on the number of completed months.
Yes, for employees in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan. Since the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 took effect on 1 January 2023, the Employment Act 1955 covers every employee regardless of salary, so these annual leave minimums apply to all staff except domestic employees. The RM4,000 a month threshold now only limits overtime, rest-day and public-holiday pay, shift allowance and termination benefits, which do not apply to employees earning more unless they are manual workers. Sabah and Sarawak have their own Labour Ordinances. Many employers offer more than the statutory minimum.
Yes. The Employment Act sets the minimum entitlement. Employers are free to offer more generous leave policies. Many companies in Malaysia offer 14-20 days as standard, especially for professional roles.
Under Malaysian law, unused annual leave can be forfeited if not taken within 12 months after the end of the year it was accrued, unless the employer agrees to carry it forward. Employment contracts or company policies may specify carry-forward rules.
When pro-rated leave results in a fraction of a day, Malaysian practice is to round to the nearest whole day. If the fraction is 0.5 or more, it rounds up. If less than 0.5, it rounds down. This calculator follows that convention.
