Employer of record in Malaysia
22 sourced figures on hiring in Malaysia, drawn from 9 sources and normalized for comparison: statutory rules, employer cost and exactly what an EOR covers locally. Every figure is dated.
Hiring here: moderately complex, mid-range on cost, and fast to hire via EOR.
Employer of record in Malaysia: the statutory snapshot
The headline employer costs, pay floor and worker protections for hiring in Malaysia through an employer of record, each figure sourced and dated. 49 EOR providers cover Malaysia.
| Minimum wage | MYR 1,500/mo | ILOSTAT, 2024-01-01 |
|---|---|---|
| Employer social security | 14.45% | ISSA Country Profiles, 2024-01-01 |
| Corporate tax | 24% | PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, 2026-06-16 |
| Notice period | 6.7 weeks | World Bank Employing Workers / B-READY, 2019-05-01 |
| Severance | 17.2 weeks | World Bank Employing Workers / B-READY, 2019-05-01 |
| Annual leave | 8 days | National government, 2026-01-01 |
| Public holidays | 11 days | National government, 2026-01-01 |
| Maternity leavePaid leave available to mothers, incl. mother-eligible parental leave | 14 weeks | World Bank Women, Business and the Law, 2026-02-23 |
As of 2026-08-03. Each value is the winning figure from primary and harmonized sources, resolved by a documented priority chain. Full record with provenance below.
Reading the data
What the figures say about Malaysia
The statutory minimum wage stands at MYR 1,500 per month, while the average monthly wage of employees reached MYR 2,933, meaning typical payroll sits well above the legal floor. Employers contribute 14.45% of wages in social security, with employees adding a further 11.7%, and a corporate tax rate of 24% applies to profits. The standard working week is capped at 45 hours, and actual hours worked averaged 46 hours per week, closely tracking the statutory limit. Ending an employment relationship carries meaningful cost: the statutory notice period is 6.7 weeks and statutory severance reaches 17.2 weeks. On leave, employees are entitled to 14 weeks of maternity leave and 1 week of paternity leave, with 11 public holidays per year and no statutory 13th-month salary obligation. Malaysia's labour force numbers 18.7 million people, with an unemployment rate of 3.76% and collective bargaining coverage of just 0.4%.
Where to start
Three ways to hire in Malaysia
You are the employer. Lowest per head cost at scale, months to establish.
You direct the work, the provider's local entity is the employer on paper. Compliant in days.
See the 49 providers below ↓Not your employee. Fastest and cheapest, with misclassification exposure.
The full record
Every figure behind the snapshot
Not a guide, a record: 22 figures for Malaysia from 9 sources, last refreshed 2026-08-03. Each value carries its source and the date it was pulled. Hover any provenance tag for the full chain.
Average monthly earnings in Malaysia by occupation (2020)
Gross monthly earnings of employees per ISCO-08 major occupation group, in MYR — the official ILOSTAT survey figures, not estimates. Use them to sanity-check an offer before an EOR quote turns it into total employer cost.
| Occupation group | Monthly (MYR) | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| All occupations | 2,933 | $698 |
| Managers · ISCO 1 | 6,479 | $1,541 |
| Professionals · ISCO 2 | 5,301 | $1,261 |
| Technicians and associate professionals · ISCO 3 | 3,313 | $788 |
| Clerical support workers · ISCO 4 | 2,370 | $564 |
| Service and sales workers · ISCO 5 | 1,926 | $458 |
| Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers · ISCO 6 | 1,547 | $368 |
| Craft and related trades workers · ISCO 7 | 1,891 | $450 |
| Plant and machine operators and assemblers · ISCO 8 | 1,918 | $456 |
| Elementary occupations · ISCO 9 | 1,727 | $411 |
Source: ILOSTAT (EAR_EMTA, employees, both sexes), reference year 2020. Survey earnings differ from statutory minimums above.
The differentiator
What an EOR handles in Malaysia
An EOR removes the entity and the payroll machinery. It does not remove your obligations as the people manager.
Provider × country
Who can employ in Malaysia
49 providers operate an EOR in Malaysia, ranked by Select Score.
Comparing EOR options for Malaysia?
Run a side-by-side on the providers that actually operate there.