Hours and Wages

• Work hours must not exceed eight hours a day, or 48 hours a week, according to Lawyerment. Overtime pay is 1.5 times the regular hourly wage for a normal working day, twice the normal wage on rest days and three times the regular hourly wage on public holidays, which are granted on ten occasions throughout the year. Sick leave is granted on a seniority basis, with employees having worked for less than two year eligible for two weeks a year, and 22 days entitled to employees having worked for over five years.
  
  

Firing

• According to Lawyerment, an employee can be fired if the contract of service has been violated. This includes being absent for more than two consecutive workdays without prior approval. An employer can otherwise fire employees in case of worker misconduct, misdemeanor offenses or negligence at the work place. Unless notification is specified in the contract, the law stipulates that employees working less than two years need a minimum of four weeks notification, a minimum of six weeks for two to five years of employment, and a minimum of eight weeks for employees employed for at least five years.
  
  

Disputes

• Under the Industrial Relations Act of 1967, employers and employees are encouraged to self-regulate their mutual relationship and to try to settle differences in a civilized manner. Government intervention comes in the form of providing a legal model if the employer and employee model for arbitration proves not to be sufficient. If necessary, the Ministry of Human Resources can defer disputes to the Industrial Court, after which employees cannot declare a strike while the dispute is being considered by the court, although "peaceful and orderly picketing" is permitted under the Industrial Act of 1967.
  
  

Occupational Safety and Health Act

• The Occupational Safety and Health Act, passed in 1994, aims to provide the outline for safety standards in the Malaysian workforce. This law puts the onus onto the employer to set up safe working conditions, with a potential punishment not exceeding a payment of 50,000 Malaysian Ringgit and/or two years imprisonment if the standards are not kept up to par.
  
  

Employees Provident Fund

• The Employees Provident Fund is roughly the equivalent of U.S. Social Security. Under the scheme, all employees in Malaysia 16 or older must join the Employees Provident Fund, with employees contributing 11 percent of their monthly wages toward the account.