What to expect from an Employer Agreement before coming as Expat to Malaysia:

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.