What You Need to Know About Sick Leave in Malaysia
Key Takeaways
- Employees in Malaysia are entitled to 14 to 22 days of paid sick leave based on length of service, with up to 60 days allowed for hospitalization.
- Paid sick leave must be supported by a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner in most cases.
- Employers may require medical certificates from approved clinics, but exceptions can be made with valid justification.
- Frequent sick leave may signal burnout or deeper issues, which employers should address before taking action.
- Chronic health conditions can impact employment, and employers may consider adjusted roles or termination if job duties can no longer be fulfilled.
Much as we hate it, getting sick is something we have to deal with occasionally. As an employer, sick employees are unproductive, and worse, may spread disease around the office.
Hence, paid sick leave is one of the types of leave that employees are entitled to under Malaysia’s Employment Act 1955. But there are many other intricacies around sick leave that you need to know. Here is a guide to sick leave in Malaysia.
Legal Entitlement to Sick Leave
The following is the number of paid sick days under the Employment Act:
- 14 days per year if employed for 1–2 years,
- 18 days per year if employed for 2–5 years,
- 22 days per year if employed for longer than 5 years.
- If hospitalization is necessary, employees are entitled to 60 days sick leave. Employees are entitled to a total of 60 days’ leave in one calendar year.
Most companies use the Employment Act as a baseline for their sick leave policies. An employment contract which attempts to provide for less sick leave will be void. Many employers also give more generous sick leave benefits to attract and motivate staff.
All About Medical Certificates
HR professionals will be intimately familiar with this slip of paper. Issued by a doctor, a medical certificate (better known as an MC) excuses an employee from work as a result of illness.
Whether it’s a cold, a stomach ache, or something more serious, an employee’s request to take sick leave must almost invariably by backed up by an MC. In fact, the Employment Act requires the employee to be examined “by a registered medical practitioner” to be entitled to paid sick leave.
In practice, some employers will only accept MCs issued by clinics appointed by them or their insurance provider. If an employee submits an MC issued by a non-approved medical provider, they will have to justify a reason for it (e.g. the particular clinic is near their residence).
On the other hand, many companies are also accepting sick leave requests without MCs. This works based on trust, that sick employees will take the time to recover properly and be back to full productivity soonest. However, if this trust is broken, the company will have no choice but to demand submission of an MC.
“Wellbeing is realized by small steps, but is truly no small thing.”
What to Do if an Employee Constantly Takes Sick Leave
It isn’t unheard of for some employees to constantly take sick leave and use up their allocated quota of sick days. Such employees can be weeded out with proper recruitment and onboarding processes.
But what if a previously high-performing employee starts doing the same thing? It could be that such employees may be suffering from burnout.
For this, you will need to identify the root causes of burnout and tackle it, or otherwise identify other factors instead of just blaming the employee. Motivated and satisfied employees are much less likely to get “sick” of work.
But, if it becomes unresolvable, employers can take disciplinary action. If an employee is absent on sick leave but doesn’t inform their employer within 48 hours, they will be deemed absent from work without permission. This constitutes misconduct, which can result in disciplinary action such as temporary suspension without pay, demotion, or up to dismissal.
Dealing with Chronic Health Issues
Ideally, everyone in the company should be fit and healthy. But sometimes, you may come across an employee who has congenital health problems (e.g hemophilia) but is otherwise suitably qualified.
In this case, the employee should disclose their health problem to the company. From there, the employer can judge if their health will affect their job performance negatively. Otherwise, companies can require prospective employees to undergo pre-employment health screening (sponsored by the employer).
But what if a previously-healthy employee develops a chronic health problem (e.g. cancer)? They may be using up all of their sick leave, hospitalization leave, and more. In this case, the company may have no choice but to let them go. The employee can no longer fulfil their obligations, and thus the employer-employee relationship can no longer continue.
In certain cases, the company may allow the sick employee to continue working, albeit with reduced hours and reduced pay. However, most employers will choose to terminate employment and compensate accordingly. Sad as it may be, employers do need to consider productivity as part of the equation.
Make Leave Management Effortless
With mobile requests and auto approvals, brioHR keeps employees and managers in sync no back-and-forth.
Everything HR.
One login
From payroll to onboarding, brioHR gives you everything you need in one place. Built for busy teams. Backed by people who care.
Conclusion
- Sick leave in Malaysia is governed by clear legal requirements, and employers must at minimum comply with the Employment Act provisions.
- Having a well-defined sick leave policy helps ensure fairness while maintaining productivity and workplace health.
- Medical certificates play a key role in validating sick leave, though some companies may adopt more flexible, trust-based approaches.
- Employers should address underlying issues such as burnout or health conditions before resorting to disciplinary action.
- Balancing employee wellbeing with business needs is essential in managing sick leave effectively and sustainably.
To learn more about how brioHR can transform your HR processes, check out BrioHR’s website or request a demo.
