Working on Raya or CNY? Here's the extra pay you're owed — and the RM4,000 line that decides it

You're rostered on Hari Raya. Or CNY. Or Deepavali. Everyone else is balik kampung and you're covering the shift.

What are you actually owed?

The short version most people have heard is "double pay" or "triple pay." Both are roughly right and both are imprecise, and the imprecision is where employers and staff end up arguing.

1. First: how many public holidays are you entitled to?

Section 60D(1) of the Employment Act entitles covered employees to 11 paid public holidays a year, plus any day appointed under section 8 of the Holidays Act 1951 — the ad hoc holidays governments declare at short notice.

Five are compulsory:

• National Day (Merdeka)
• Malaysia Day
• Birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
• Birthday of the State Ruler, or Federal Territory Day in KL, Putrajaya and Labuan
• Labour Day

The employer chooses the other six from the gazetted list, and must tell employees at the start of the year.

State holidays vary, so most states end up around 13 to 17 days in total.

The rule people get wrong: your public holiday entitlement follows where you work, not where you live. A Selangor resident working in KL gets Federal Territory Day. A KL resident working in Selangor doesn't.

Ad hoc holidays are binding. When the federal or a state government declares a holiday at short notice — a football win, a royal occasion — it's a legally binding paid holiday under section 8 of the Holidays Act, not a favour.

2. The pay rates — and the arithmetic behind the confusion

Here is what section 60D actually provides.

If you work on a paid public holiday during your normal hours:

• You still get your holiday pay (already in your monthly salary), plus
• Two additional days' wages at the ordinary rate of pay

So the total for that day is your holiday pay + 2 days = effectively three days' worth. People call it "double pay" because two extra days are added; others call it "triple" because that's the total. Both descriptions are floating around, which is exactly why payroll disputes happen. Look at the arithmetic, not the label.

Overtime on a public holiday — hours beyond your normal working hours — is paid at not less than three times the hourly rate. This is the highest overtime rate in Malaysian employment law.

Half working days. Section 60D(4) deals with overtime on holidays falling on half working days, at its own rate.

The practical calculation starts from your ordinary rate of pay — your monthly wage divided by 26, which gives the daily rate, then divided by your normal hours for the hourly rate.

3. The RM4,000 threshold — the thing nobody tells you

This is the single most important thing on this page, and it changed in 2023.

Before 2023, the Employment Act generally covered employees earning up to RM2,000 a month.

From 1 January 2023, the amended First Schedule extended the Act to all employees who have entered into a contract of service, regardless of wages.

But certain provisions were carved out for those earning above RM4,000 a month, including:

So if you earn more than RM4,000 a month:

• You are entitled to the paid public holidays themselves
• You are not statutorily entitled to the extra two days' wages, or the triple-rate overtime, for working one

The exception within the exception: the carve-out doesn't apply where the nature of your job falls within paragraph 2 of the First Schedule — which covers manual workers and certain categories including some drivers and vehicle-related roles. A manual worker earning above RM4,000 can still be entitled.

What "wages" means for the RM4,000 test. It's the definition in section 2 — basic wage and payments for work done under the contract, excluding accommodation, food, fuel, light, water and medical subsidies, and pension or termination benefits. Under the First Schedule, commission, subsistence allowance and overtime are further excluded when working out whether you're above the threshold.

And crucially: many Malaysian employers pay public holiday rates to all staff as a matter of company policy, regardless of the threshold. Check your contract and handbook — the statute is a floor, not a ceiling.

4. The scenarios people actually ask about

Public holiday falls on your rest day. The next working day generally becomes the substitute public holiday, and you keep the public holiday benefits for that substitute day.

Public holiday falls while you're on annual leave. It generally should not be deducted from your annual leave entitlement. You don't lose a leave day because a holiday landed in it.

Public holiday falls while you're on sick leave. Same principle.

Your employer wants to substitute a different day. Section 60D allows an employer to substitute another day for a gazetted public holiday. That's lawful — but it should be communicated, not sprung on you.

You're on shift work. Shift roles still need coverage on holidays. What matters is that rotation rules are published in advance and pay is calculated correctly.

When do you get paid? Wages are generally due no later than the 7th day after the wage period ends — but wages for rest days, gazetted public holidays and overtime can be paid by the last day of the next wage period. So a slight delay on holiday pay isn't necessarily a breach.

5. If your employer gets it wrong

Penalty: failing to grant a public holiday or to compensate for it properly can attract a fine — reported at up to RM10,000.

Section 7 matters more than people realise. Any term or condition less favourable to an employee than what the Employment Act provides is void and of no effect — including in contracts signed before the amendments. So a clause saying "no extra pay for public holidays" doesn't override the statute for someone covered by it.

Where to complain: the Labour Department (Jabatan Tenaga Kerja, JTK). Bring your payslips, your contract, your roster or attendance records, and the dates in question.

Before you escalate: raise it in writing with HR first. A surprising proportion of these disputes are payroll configuration errors rather than deliberate underpayment — particularly since the 2023 threshold change, which caught out a lot of employers who had never had to think about overtime before.

6. Where you work matters — Sabah and Sarawak

The Employment Act 1955 applies to Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan.

Sabah is governed by the Sabah Labour Ordinance (Chapter 67) and Sarawak by the Sarawak Labour Ordinance (Chapter 76). The principles are broadly similar but the provisions differ, so check the applicable Ordinance rather than assuming the EA figures apply.

What to actually do

If you're an employee:

• Check your payslip against the arithmetic — holiday pay plus two days at ordinary rate for the day worked.
• Check whether you're above RM4,000, using the section 2 definition of wages, excluding commission, subsistence allowance and overtime.
• Check your contract and handbook — many employers pay holiday rates to everyone regardless of the threshold.
• Keep your rosters and attendance records. These disputes turn on proving you worked.
• Raise it in writing with HR before going further.
• JTK if it isn't resolved.

If you're an employer:

• Tell employees at the start of the year which six holidays you've selected.
• Apply holidays by workplace location, not employee residence — this trips up multi-state operations constantly.
• Configure payroll for the RM4,000 threshold, including the manual worker exception.
• Don't deduct annual leave for a public holiday falling within it.
• Remember ad hoc holidays are binding — plan for them.
• Section 7 voids less favourable terms, so a contractual clause won't save an underpayment.