Hi
friends welcome back and glad to see you here!!!
Either
for Business or for Employment, many people relocate to other countries leaving
their mother land behind. It is good opportunity to know new cultures, atmospheres,
global experiences. But it is not always as pleasant as expected if you don’t take
proper care before relocating.
 | |
| Malaysian Flag |
As
an Expat living in Malaysia, I personally faced some problems and now and then receive
queries from my fellow colleagues. As we are working here, most of the problems
come from employer’s agreement or contract which we have to sign before coming
to Malaysia. At the time of
agreement/contract sign we may miss out some points which might cause major
setback later. So I want to share some top important points which need to be taken
with high priority.
1.
Genuine Company:
When you got an offer from a company
which good pay and other benefits don’t simply accept it without doing proper investigation
about the Company. There are many companies which are “Black Listed” or “Suspect
Listed” in Malaysian Immigration. Without knowing this, if you accept the offer
then you will be troubled at the time of entry in Malaysia. Even though you
could able to manage to enter, later on you will face lot of problems.
So my sincere advice to all aspiring
expats who want to come to Malaysia, please make a thorough inquiry about the employer
who is providing visa/pass for you. If
you have any friends in Malaysia ask them to inquire for you about the company,
or else you can contact Malaysian Immigration for assistance.
2. Proper
Employment Pass:
There are different types of Employment Passes
available in Malaysia. Please check Immigration Official Website for more
information. Check with your employer for how many years they are going to
provide your EP and what type. You should be aware of this clearly.
Be careful with the companies which ask
for money to proceed with your visa/pass processing. A good company should not
charge anything
3. Clear
Salary Negotiations and Benefits :
Generally, people will get attracted to
the offered salary without thinking much about other benefits. If you are one
of them please concentrate on the below points.
Medical
Coverage: Don’t forget to ask Medical Coverage. Medical facility is expensive
in Malaysia compared to India. So better check with HR about the Medical
benefits provided and it is only for you or your dependents or not. If you are
relocating with family like mother, wife and kids then better to get full
family coverage.
Accommodation: In Malaysia Accommodation
is quite expensive. A normal, 2 bed room condo comes around RM 2,500/- per
month. If you plan for good area and 3 bed rooms flat then the price might go
higher. Check with your employer whether company provides any accommodation or
not. If not ask to give house rent allowance or something. If not, then plan
accordingly.
For bachelors normally they will say for
few months company will provide the accommodation. Make sure it is combined
accommodation with other employees or individual rooms etc based on your convenience.
Tax:
Normally companies tell the Gross Salary when they discuss with their
employees. Some people may get an impression that they will receive that much
amount in hand every month. But it might not be true always. Normally there is
Income tax deduction from employee’s salary every month. So when you discuss about salary
negotiations, ask about income tax. Some companies pay income tax on behalf of
their employees.
Children
Education Facility: If
you are married and have kids whom you plan to educate here then please do
inquire about Schooling and Education facilities prior. If you want to go for
International Schools then make sure you know the fee structure other extra fee
etc which might be troublesome if not planned earlier. Check with your employer
whether any facility for Schooling and Education of children.
Dependant
Visa: The common thing
happens in most of bachelor expats is, they come as single after few months
they gets married. J As common, when they want to bring his/her
spouse to Malaysia, dependant visa comes into scene. So again need to contact
with employer.
Some companies demand for money to
proceed with dependant visas. So it is
better to check with them prior.
Leaves,
Bonus and Hardship Allowance: Make it clear about the number of leaves
per month or per annum and what types of leaves available. Generally most of the
companies provide Annual Leave, Sick Leave, Hospitalization leave and Maternity
leave. Make an inquiry with your friends.
Some companies pays yearly bonus to its
employees. It is important to mention about Hardship allowance in agreement.
Better to discuss this too.
4. Clear
Contract Agreement:
Another common problem in bachelors face in Malaysia
is, payment when there is no job. To make it much clear, people join to some job
consultancy and placed on Client location as work assignment. The Job
Consultancy will have some agreement with the Client. Based on that only
employees are placed in jobs.
Generally, once the job ends with particular
client, the job consultancy shows new Client to work. In some cases, if job
consultancy fails to show new job for its employee, then employee has to stay
at home without any work. In such situations, consultancies won’t pay salary to
the employee as he/she did not work. These situations are really miserable for
employees. They don’t go to work and they don’t get the pay. So it is better to
discuss bench salary beforehand.
5. Career
Growth and Performance Appraisals:
Don’t
forget to check with your employer about the career growth and the frequency of
performance appraisals. Performance appraisal directly connected with salary
hikes. Sometimes when your designation upgraded then only hikes are given.
Discuss the company policies and other stuff.
6. About
Notice Period:
Check the notice periods. Generally in
contract letter, HR mentions about the notice period should be given by
employee before quitting the job. But make sure that they mention about the
notice period should be given by employer to its employee. This is very
important. If this is not mentioned you can be fired at any point of time
without any notice. But vice versa cannot be same. If you want to resign from your
services you should server minimum of one month notice.
Most of the jobs openings prefer
immediate joining so make sure notice period a bit less. Don’t forget to check
the buyout policy if required. Some companies don’t allow employees to avail
balance annual leaves in notice period time. So better check it out.
If
you think I need to add some other point to this, please let me know. If you feel
this post is helpful please subscribe or leave comment. Share your personal
experience with others which helps them from going in wrong route.
1 comment
Post a Comment