Unpaid Leave Calculator Malaysia 2026
See how much a few days of unpaid leave take off a monthly wage in Malaysia, by the ordinary rate of pay or by the working days in the month, side by side.
Preview page. The rates are checked against official sources; the page is awaiting final review before it is published.
Result
This is an estimate for planning. Confirm the final figure with the bank, JPJ or LHDN before you commit.
How it's calculated
There are two common ways to turn a monthly wage into a daily rate for unpaid leave, and your contract or company policy decides which one applies.
Method 1, the ordinary rate of pay. The Employment Act defines the ordinary rate for a monthly-rated employee as the monthly wage divided by 26, in section 60I. Each day of unpaid leave is deducted at that rate, whatever month it falls in.
deduction = monthly wage ÷ 26 × days of unpaid leave
Method 2, working days in the month. The wage is divided by the number of working days in the month of the leave, counting Monday to Friday or Monday to Saturday, so the daily rate changes from month to month.
deduction = monthly wage ÷ working days in the month × days of unpaid leave
Worked example (the default inputs). A wage of RM 3,000.00 and two days of unpaid leave. By the ordinary rate: RM 3,000 ÷ 26 = RM 115.38 a day, so the deduction is RM 230.77 and the net wage RM 2,769.23. By working days in January 2026, which has 22 weekdays: RM 3,000 ÷ 22 = RM 136.36 a day, deduction RM 272.73, net wage RM 2,727.27.
The working days count treats public holidays as working days, because which holidays apply depends on the state and the employer’s own list. If your employer excludes public holidays, the daily rate rises slightly in months with holidays.
Which method applies to you
Read the employment contract and the leave policy. If neither names a formula, the 26-day ordinary rate is the safe default, because it is the only daily rate the Act defines for monthly-rated employees and the one the Labour Department uses for other calculations. An employer may choose a different formula, but under section 60I(2) the result may not be less favourable to the employee than the Act’s formula for the purposes the Act covers. In practice that means an employer who divides by working days should not also charge employees for rest days inside the leave period.
Half days and part months
A half day of unpaid leave is half the daily rate under either method; enter 0.5 in the days field. For employees who join or leave part-way through a month, most payrolls prorate the wage by calendar days or working days rather than using the 26-day rate. That is a different calculation from unpaid leave, and the Act leaves it to the contract.
FAQ
How is unpaid leave deducted from salary in Malaysia?
Most employers deduct one day’s ordinary rate of pay for each day of unpaid leave, which for a monthly-rated employee is the monthly wage divided by 26 under section 60I of the Employment Act. Some contracts instead divide the wage by the number of working days in that month. The contract or the company handbook decides; the Act only fixes the 26-day method for its own purposes, such as overtime.
Is it 26 days or the actual working days?
Dividing by 26 gives the same daily rate every month and is the Act’s formula. Dividing by the working days in the month gives a higher daily rate in short months and a lower one in long months. The difference on RM 3,000 is RM 115.38 against RM 136.36 for a January with 22 working days. Neither is wrong; what matters is that the employer applies one method consistently and states it in writing.
Can my employer deduct more than the days I took?
No. Deductions from wages are restricted by Part IV of the Employment Act, and a deduction for absence may only cover the period of absence at the agreed rate. Deducting a rest day or public holiday that falls inside a block of unpaid leave is a common dispute; the Act does not allow pay for a rest day that the employee was not entitled to in the first place, so check how the leave was recorded.
Does unpaid leave affect EPF, SOCSO and PCB?
Yes, indirectly. Statutory contributions are calculated on the wages actually paid for the month, so a lower gross wage means lower EPF, SOCSO and EIS contributions and a lower monthly tax deduction. Annual leave entitlement, however, is based on completed months of service and is not reduced by a few days of unpaid leave.
Can I take unpaid leave instead of annual leave?
Only with the employer’s agreement. Unpaid leave is not an entitlement under the Act; it is a concession. Many employers require annual leave to be exhausted first, and some treat unauthorised absence of more than two consecutive working days without reasonable excuse as a breach of contract under section 15(2). Get the approval in writing before you go.
Sources
- Employment Act 1955 (Act 265), updated text as at 1 January 2023, sections 60, 60A, 60D and 60I and the First Schedule
- Employment (Limitation of Overtime Work) Regulations 1980, regulation 2 (104 hours a month)
- Employment (Amendment of First Schedule) Order 2022, P.U.(A) 262/2022, in force 1 January 2023 by P.U.(A) 273/2022