KUALA LUMPUR (Mar 21): Almost half, or 46% of Malaysian employers surveyed by professional recruiting group Hays Plc expect to award salary increases of between 3% to 6% during their next salary review.

According to the 2017 Hays Asia Salary Guide, 27% of employers in Malaysia  expect to award increases from between 6% and 10%; 9%  plan to award over 10% increments, 13% will look to award up to 3% while 4% will award no increase.

The annual Hays Asia Salary Guide, now in its tenth year, highlights salary and recruiting trends in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. The guide draws on research from more than 3,000 employers representing six million employees.

During their last review period, 50% of employers in Malaysia awarded increases of also between 3% and 6%.

“Malaysia is a resourceful nation, but given the uncertainties in the global and regional climate, employers are taking a moderate approach to salaries” said  Regional Director of Hays Malaysia Tom Osborne in a statement today.

In terms of intended salary increases across the region, Hong Kong (49 %) and Singapore (46 %) will offer between 3% and 6%, China (45%) will increase from between 6% and 10 % with Japan (60%) offering up to a 3% increase.

From the Malaysian employees perspective, 31% of respondents expect to receive an increase from 6 to 10% during their next review while a further 19%  will be expecting an increase of more than 10%. 

“Respondents in Malaysia wanting a salary increase above what employers are planning to award are advised to do their homework and know why their performance merits a larger increase

“Candidates also need to keep up with economic news as well as keeping abreast of market conditions to ensure their expectations are managed accordingly,” said Osborne.

Meanwhile, 7% of employees in Malaysia are not expecting a pay rise at all with 29% expecting an increase from between 3% to 6% and 14%  up to 3%.

As for bonuses, 66% of employers in Malaysia intend to award bonuses to all employees in the coming year, while  22% intend to award bonuses to only some employees.

Of the employers in Malaysia paying bonuses, 33 % expect bonuses to be worth from 11%  per cent to 50%  of staff salary; 29%  up to 10% of staff salary and 18% from 51%  to 99% of staff salary. Another 20% of employers in Malaysia expect to pay bonuses worth 100%  of staff salary.

Across all countries in the region, bonuses were most commonly related to company performance (88 %) or individual performance (84%). Only 10% of staff bonuses were guaranteed. A further 34% of bonuses were related to team performance and a small 2% to hours billed.

In Malaysia, 92% of employers offer staff benefits in addition to salary/bonus. Most commonly provided is health/medical benefits (89 %), car/car allowance (57 %), life assurance (49 %), club/gym membership (17%) and hardship allowance (15%).