Employment and Industrial Relations Update: Hiring Soon? Employers Will Need to Notify PERKESO Before Filling Vacancies

The Employment Insurance System (Amendment) Act 2026 [Act A1796], published in the Gazette on 15 September 2026, introduces a new notification requirement for employers. Once the relevant provisions come into operation, employers must notify the Social Security Organisation (“PERKESO”) in writing of any job vacancy or new position before hiring an employee to fill it. Employers must also notify PERKESO in writing within seven days after filling the vacancy or position.

Non-compliance with the pre-hiring notification requirement constitutes an offence. Upon conviction, an employer is liable to a fine not exceeding RM1,000 for a first offence, RM3,000 for a second offence and RM5,000 for a third or subsequent offence. The offence provision specifically refers to a contravention of the pre-hiring notification duty; Act A1796 does not expressly attach those penalties to the seven-day post-filing notification obligation. The amendments also form part of a broader expansion of PERKESO’s role in employment services, including employment brokerage, job matching, job counselling and career advice.

However, the vacancy-notification requirement is not yet in force. Act A1796 will come into operation on a date or dates appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette. Employers should therefore monitor the relevant commencement notification and any further guidance from PERKESO on how the notification requirement will operate in practice.

This update is prepared by Amandeep Singh Atwal.

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