Section 60FA of the Employment Act 1955 gives a married male employee seven consecutive days of paid paternity leave at his ordinary rate of pay for each confinement, capped at five confinements irrespective of the number of spouses. He qualifies only if he has been employed by the same employer for at least twelve months immediately before the leave starts, and has notified the employer of his spouse's pregnancy at least thirty days from the expected confinement or as early as possible after the birth.
- s.60FA(1) — seven consecutive days at the ordinary rate of pay, per confinement.
- s.60FA(2) — restricted to five confinements irrespective of the number of spouses.
- s.60FA(3)(a) — at least twelve months of employment with the same employer immediately before the leave commences.
- s.60FA(3)(b) — notice of the spouse's pregnancy at least thirty days from the expected confinement, or as early as possible after the birth.
- The entitlement is limited to married male employees; the Act does not extend it to unmarried fathers.
- It applies at every wage level — s.60FA is not among the six provisions disapplied above RM4,000 by First Schedule paragraph 1A.
- Domestic employees are excluded, because First Schedule paragraph 2(5) disapplies s.60FA to them.
Who this applies to: Employers administering paternity leave, and expectant fathers in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan.
On this page
Paternity leave entered the Employment Act 1955 on 1 January 2023 as a single short section, and almost every summary of it stops at “seven days”. The conditions attached to those seven days are where employers actually get it wrong, because two of them are met — or missed — long before the baby arrives.
The entitlement
Section 60FA(1): a married male employee shall be entitled to a paid paternity leave at his ordinary rate of pay for a period of seven consecutive days in respect of each confinement.
Three words carry weight.
Married. The section is expressly limited to a married male employee. The Act does not extend it to unmarried fathers, and s.7A permits an employer to be more generous by contract if it chooses.
Consecutive. Not seven working days to be taken as convenient. The section describes one continuous block per confinement.
Ordinary rate of pay. As defined by s.60I — for a monthly-rated employee, the monthly rate divided by 26.
The cap
Section 60FA(2) restricts the leave to five confinements irrespective of the number of spouses. The counter follows the employee, not the marriage. A man with two wives does not get five confinements each; he gets five in total.
The two conditions
Section 60FA(3) makes the entitlement conditional on both of the following:
| Condition | Provision |
|---|---|
| Employment by the same employer for at least twelve months immediately before the paternity leave commences | s.60FA(3)(a) |
| Notification to the employer of the spouse’s pregnancy at least thirty days from the expected confinement, or as early as possible after the birth | s.60FA(3)(b) |
The service condition is the one that bites. A father who joins the company in March and whose child is born the following January does not qualify under the Act, however sympathetic the case.
The notification condition is drafted with an alternative limb, so a premature or unexpectedly early birth does not defeat the entitlement — the employee must simply notify as early as possible after it.
Who is covered
Everyone under a contract of service, subject to one real exclusion. First Schedule paragraph 1 covers any person who has entered into a contract of service, and s.60FA is not among the six provisions disapplied above RM4,000 a month by paragraph 1A. A director-level employee on RM25,000 a month has the same seven days as a production operator.
The exclusion is domestic employees: First Schedule paragraph 2(5) disapplies s.60FA, along with ss.60E, 60F and Parts IX and XIIA, to them.
Sabah and Sarawak are governed by their own Labour Ordinances rather than by Act 265, and the 2025 amending Acts do not map section-for-section onto the Employment Act. Check the applicable Ordinance for East Malaysian staff.
Common mistakes
Reading the seven days as working days. The section says consecutive days.
Applying the cap per marriage. It is five confinements irrespective of the number of spouses.
Ignoring the twelve-month condition and then withdrawing the leave. Decide eligibility when the notification arrives, not after the leave is taken.
Treating the notification as optional. It is a statutory condition of entitlement, not an administrative courtesy — although the second limb protects an early birth.
Assuming the RM4,000 threshold removes it. Paragraph 1A is a closed list of six provisions and s.60FA is not one of them.
What’s next
Add a paternity-leave field to your leave system that records the confinement count rather than only the days taken, so the five-confinement cap can be applied without reconstructing history. The corresponding entitlement and the pregnancy-termination protections are set out in maternity leave.
The following are deliberately unstated or described only qualitatively until confirmed by a subject-matter expert:
- Confirm whether rest days and gazetted public holidays falling within the seven consecutive days are counted against the entitlement, against JTKSM guidance
- Confirm whether the twelve-month service condition tolerates a break in service, and how continuous service is computed for s.60FA
Sources
- Employment Act 1955 (Act 265), updated text as at 1 January 2023 — Jabatan Tenaga Kerja Semenanjung Malaysia
Change history
| Version | Date | Change | By |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01.00 | 20 Jul 2026 | Approved and published. | — |