New Minimum Wages Order effective 1 May 2022; employers with less than 5 employees exempted
Helen Saulnier 
The widely-anticipated Minimum Wages Order 2022 (“the Order”) was gazetted on 27 April 2022. The Order, pursuant to section 23 of the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011, increases the minimum wage nationwide to RM1,500 from 1 May 2022. There is a temporary exemption until 31 December 2022 from the increase for employers with less than five employees.
Further details of the Order are set out below.
New minimum wage from 1 May 2022
From 1 May 2022, the monthly minimum wage will be increased to RM1,500 nationwide. The Order also provides minimum wage rates for employees paid on a daily or hourly basis, as set out in this table:
Temporary exemption for employers with less than 5 employees
There is a temporary exemption until 31 December 2022 for employers with less than five employees. However, this exemption does not apply to employers who carry out professional activities (as classified under the Malaysia Standard Classification of Occupations published by the Ministry of Human Resources), regardless of number of employees.
For exempted employers, the existing minimum wage rates will continue to apply, and the Order provides that from 1 January 2023 the new minimum wage rates will apply to all employers.
