For foreign workers:<\/strong> The scheme remains mandatory. Contributions continue to be deducted at 0.75% and remitted to PERKESO under the existing legal provisions. There is no opt-out. Payroll for foreign employees runs on the same rules that applied on 1 June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result is a two-tier payroll configuration that companies with mixed workforces now have to manage: opt-in for local employees, mandatory for foreign ones, both processed through the same monthly payroll cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The operational stance is deliberate, not reactive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For foreign workers:<\/strong> Nothing changes. Continue the SKBBK deduction at 0.75%, remit on the standard PERKESO schedule, keep the payslip line and reporting as configured. The mandatory rule for foreign employees is unchanged from 1 June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Malaysian workers who had SKBBK deducted in June:<\/strong> The June contributions are retained as paid, providing the accident coverage they were designed to provide for that month. They are not refunded, and companies should not attempt to reverse them. Employees keep the coverage they contributed to in June; from July onwards, the contribution is voluntary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the July payroll cycle onwards:<\/strong> Malaysian employees who wish to continue contributing can be maintained in the SKBBK deduction line. Malaysian employees who choose not to continue should have the deduction removed for their record. The configuration remains active at the company level, but the per-employee application shifts to opt-in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employee communication is the priority.<\/strong> Malaysian employees need to know that the June deduction was compliant and provided coverage for that month, and that from July they have a choice. Foreign employees need to know that their contribution continues unchanged. Both groups reading the same news article will assume the change applies to them; only clear internal communication resolves the confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do not remove SKBBK from the payroll configuration entirely.<\/strong> Foreign workers still need it. Malaysian workers who opt in still need it. The configuration line stays; the per-employee application changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The past six weeks have been a compressed example of what regulatory volatility looks like in Malaysian payroll. A scheme was announced, gazetted, launched, and then split into voluntary-for-locals-mandatory-for-foreigners in the space of six weeks. The specific mechanics have changed twice in that window, and payroll teams have had to keep up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two-tier configuration is the case that hard-coded payroll systems handle worst. A system that treats SKBBK as a single company-wide setting cannot easily apply it to some employees and not others based on nationality and opt-in choice. A system that treats each statutory contribution as configurable per employee absorbs the two-tier rule as a per-record setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat Payroll Should Do Now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why Configurable Payroll Matters More Than Ever<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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