The offer letter says RM2,500. The actual cost of that employee, once statutory contributions are added, is closer to RM2,900. Most SME owners find this out after the first payroll.
3 June 2026
2 min read-- reading now
You post the job at RM2,500 a month. Someone good applies. You make the offer. They accept. You think you have agreed to RM2,500 a month.
You have not agreed to RM2,500 a month.
Every employee in Malaysia comes with mandatory employer contributions that are separate from, and on top of, the salary you negotiated. These do not appear on the offer letter. They appear on your payroll register and your monthly bank transfers.
EPF: You must contribute 13% of your employee's monthly salary into their EPF account. On RM2,500, that is RM325. This is on top of the 11% your employee contributes from their own pay.
SOCSO: You pay 1.75% of their wages into the social security fund. On RM2,500, approximately RM43.75.
EIS: Employment insurance. Another 0.4% from you. On RM2,500, RM10.
HRDCorp: If your company has 10 or more Malaysian employees and falls within the prescribed sectors, most manufacturing, services, and retail qualify, you pay 1% of each employee's monthly wages. On RM2,500, RM25.
Total statutory employer cost on top of RM2,500: approximately RM403.75.
Your RM2,500 employee costs you RM2,903.75 every month before you have paid for their laptop, their phone plan, their desk, or any training.
Annualised, the gap is nearly RM4,845. On a team of five, that is RM24,225 a year in contributions that do not show up in salary negotiations but absolutely show up in your cash flow.
Most employees are not unaware of this. Some use it as a negotiating point. But many SME owners, particularly those hiring their first or second employee, run their projections on gross salary and discover the real figure when the first payroll cycle hits.
The statutory contributions are not negotiable and not optional. EPF, SOCSO, and EIS are enforced. HRDCorp registration is required once you hit the employee threshold. Penalties for non-compliance are real.
The only number to budget from is the total employer cost, not the number on the offer letter.
If you are an SME owner planning your first hire, multiply the agreed salary by 1.16 as a starting estimate of your true monthly cost. Then add benefits, equipment, and the time it takes to onboard someone who is not yet productive.
Hiring is more expensive than the offer letter suggests.
Anda menyiarkan iklan kerja pada RM2,500 sebulan. Seseorang yang baik memohon. Anda membuat tawaran. Mereka menerimanya. Anda fikir anda telah bersetuju RM2,500 sebulan.
Anda tidak bersetuju RM2,500 sebulan.
Setiap pekerja di Malaysia datang dengan caruman majikan wajib yang berasingan daripada, dan di atas, gaji yang anda rundingkan. Ini tidak muncul dalam surat tawaran. Ia muncul dalam daftar gaji anda dan pindahan bank bulanan anda.
KWSP: Anda mesti menyumbang 13% daripada gaji bulanan pekerja anda ke akaun KWSP mereka. Pada RM2,500, itu ialah RM325. Ini adalah di atas 11% yang pekerja anda sumbangkan daripada gaji mereka sendiri.
PERKESO: Anda membayar 1.75% daripada gaji mereka ke dalam dana keselamatan sosial. Pada RM2,500, lebih kurang RM43.75.
SIP: Insurans pekerjaan. Tambahan 0.4% daripada anda. Pada RM2,500, RM10.
HRDCorp: Jika syarikat anda mempunyai 10 atau lebih pekerja Malaysia dan tergolong dalam sektor yang ditetapkan, kebanyakan pembuatan, perkhidmatan, dan runcit termasuk, anda membayar 1% daripada gaji bulanan setiap pekerja. Pada RM2,500, RM25.
Jumlah kos majikan statutori di atas RM2,500: lebih kurang RM403.75.
Pekerja RM2,500 anda menelan belanja RM2,903.75 setiap bulan sebelum anda membayar untuk laptop, pelan telefon, meja kerja, atau sebarang latihan mereka.
Dikalikan dua belas bulan, jurangnya hampir RM4,845. Pada pasukan lima orang, itu RM24,225 setahun dalam caruman yang tidak muncul dalam rundingan gaji tetapi benar-benar muncul dalam aliran tunai anda.
Kebanyakan pekerja tidak mengetahui hal ini. Sesetengah menggunakannya sebagai titik rundingan. Tetapi ramai pemilik PKS, terutama mereka yang mengambil pekerja pertama atau kedua, mengira unjuran berdasarkan gaji kasar dan mendapati angka sebenar apabila kitaran gaji pertama tiba.
Caruman statutori tidak boleh dirunding dan tidak pilihan. KWSP, PERKESO, dan SIP dikuatkuasakan. Pendaftaran HRDCorp diperlukan apabila anda mencapai ambang pekerja yang ditetapkan. Penalti bagi ketidakpatuhan adalah nyata.
Satu-satunya angka untuk dianggarkan adalah kos majikan keseluruhan, bukan angka dalam surat tawaran.
Jika anda seorang pemilik PKS yang merancang pengambilan pertama, darabkan gaji yang dipersetujui dengan 1.16 sebagai anggaran permulaan kos bulanan sebenar anda. Kemudian tambah faedah, peralatan, dan masa yang diperlukan untuk membimbing seseorang yang belum produktif sepenuhnya.
Pengambilan pekerja lebih mahal daripada yang dicadangkan oleh surat tawaran.
