Bosses with under 5 workers exempted from minimum wage rule until year-end

Employers with fewer than five workers are exempted from implementing the Minimum Wage Order (PGM) 2022 until the end of the year, says Deputy Human Resources Minister Awang Hashim.

However, he said employers involved in professional fields such as lawyers and doctors would still have to follow the stipulated minimum salary of RM1,500 for each employee, regardless of how many workers they have.

“Employers in any economic sector are not exempted from the implementation of the PGM which came into effect on May 1. But for other employers (with fewer than five workers), they have been given a deferment until Dec 31 this year.

“This relaxation is to give them some room to make the appropriate preparations regarding the payment of salaries that has been finalised by the government,” he told reporters after an event in Alor Setar yesterday.

On April 27, the government gazetted the implementation of the minimum wage of RM1,500, which came into effect on May 1, for employers who employ five or more employees as well as employers who carry out professional activities classified under the Malaysia Standard Classification of Occupations 2020.