Employment Act 1968 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 3 · Payment of Salary
21. Time of payment
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Salary other than overtime pay must be paid before the end of the 7th day after the salary period ends. Overtime pay must be paid no later than 14 days after the end of the salary period in which the overtime was worked. When a contract of service is completed, all salary due must be paid at that time.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Salary earned by an employee under a contract of service, other than additional payments for overtime work, must be paid before the expiry of the 7th day after the last day of the salary period in respect of which the salary is payable.
salary
“salary” means all remuneration including allowances payable to an employee in respect of work done under his or her contract of service, but does not include —(a)the value of any house accommodation, supply of electricity, water, medical attendance, or other amenity, or of any service excluded by general or special order of the Minister published in the Gazette;(b)any contribution paid by the employer on his or her own account to any pension fund or provident fund;(c)any travelling allowance or the value of any travelling concession;(d)any sum paid to the employee to reimburse him or her for special expenses incurred by him or her in the course of his or her employment;(e)any gratuity payable on discharge or retirement; and(f)any retrenchment benefit payable on retrenchment;
Additional payments for overtime work must be paid not later than 14 days after the last day of the salary period during which the overtime work was performed.
overtime
“overtime” means the number of hours worked in any one day or in any one week in excess of the limits specified in Part 4;
The total salary due to an employee on completion of his or her contract of service must be paid to him or her on completion of the contract.
employee
“employee” means a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service with an employer and includes a workman, and any officer or employee of the Government included in a category, class or description of such officers or employees declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act or any provision thereof, but does not include any of the following:(a)any seafarer;(b)any domestic worker;(c) (d)any person belonging to any other class of persons whom the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare not to be employees for the purposes of this Act;