Should you resign before or after your bonus? How to time it in Malaysia
Eternity Job Career Team3 November 2026 · 8 min read
Say it is November and you have a job offer. The new company wants you in January, but your bonus isn't paid until March. Resign now and you may lose it. Wait and you may lose the offer.
There is no single right answer, but there is a right order for working it out. First read the clause that decides whether you get paid. Then count back from the payment date. Then compare what you lose by leaving with what you lose by waiting. It can come out closer than you expect.
This guide covers employees in Malaysia. Bonus rules come from your contract rather than the Employment Act, so the same steps apply in Sabah and Sarawak.
Find the clause that decides it
No law says you get a bonus. As we explain in our guide to bonuses and increments, it depends on what your contract and company policy say. Look in your offer letter, your handbook and last year's bonus letter.
The exact wording changes when you can safely resign:
If the wording says | What it usually means | Safest time to resign |
|---|---|---|
You must be employed on the payment date | Your notice can probably overlap the payment date | Any date that keeps your last day on or after the payment date |
You must not be serving notice, or must not have resigned | Handing in your letter can end your eligibility | After the money reaches your account |
You must be employed at the end of the financial year | A resignation that year may count against you, even if your last day is later | After that year ends and the bonus is paid |
You must repay the bonus if you leave within a set period | You can be paid and still be asked to repay it | After the repayment period ends |
Nothing about leavers, or "at the company's discretion" | The company has room to pay you less or nothing | After the money reaches your account |
The third row is the one that catches people out. In Kesatuan Pekerja-pekerja Perkilangan Perusahaan Makanan v Etika Dairies Sdn Bhd [2023] 4 ILR 437, a worker resigned after his bonus had been paid, and the company deducted it from his salary. The collective agreement required him to stay until the end of the financial year. The Industrial Court treated his resignation as taking effect on the day he submitted it, not at the end of his notice, and ruled for the company. Your wording may be different, but don't assume serving your notice protects you, or that a bonus in your account is yours to keep.
Discretion has limits too. The Industrial Court has said employers must exercise it fairly, for example by treating staff with the same rating alike. That is a poor thing to rely on once you've resigned, so plan as if a discretionary bonus stops when your letter goes in.
Count back from the payment date
There is no standard bonus date in Malaysia. Check which payslip carried your bonus last year, and treat that month as a guide rather than a promise.
Notice counts from the day you hand in your letter, as our notice period guide explains. Say your bonus is paid on 31 March 2027. If your contract only requires you to be employed on that date, these are the latest dates that still work:
Your notice period | Resign no later than | Last day |
|---|---|---|
1 month | 1 March 2027 | 31 March 2027 |
2 months | 1 February 2027 | 31 March 2027 |
3 months | 1 January 2027 | 31 March 2027 |
Those dates leave no margin, and bonus dates can slip. Add a few weeks if you can, and remember that 1 January is a public holiday in most states.
If your contract says you must not be serving notice, the table doesn't help you. The earliest safe date is the day after the bonus reaches your account, however short your notice is.
Work out whether waiting is worth it
Take an example. You earn RM6,000 a month and expect a two-month bonus of RM12,000, close to the 2.16 months MEF forecast for executives in 2026. It is paid on 31 March 2027, your contract rules out anyone serving notice, and your notice is two months. An offer pays RM7,200 a month, a 20% rise, with a similar two-month bonus that is pro-rated in your first year.
You have two choices:
Leave now. Resign on Monday 16 November 2026 and start on Monday 18 January 2027.
Wait. Resign on Thursday 1 April 2027 and start on Tuesday 1 June 2027, if the offer can wait that long.
Item, before tax and EPF | Leave now | Wait |
|---|---|---|
Current employer's bonus | RM0 | RM12,000 |
Extra pay from the new job, 18 January to 31 May 2027 | About RM5,340 | RM0 |
First bonus from the new employer, pro-rated | About RM13,740 | RM8,400 |
Total | About RM19,080 | RM20,400 |
The bonus looks like a RM12,000 decision. In this example, waiting puts you only about RM1,300 ahead, and that assumes the new employer holds the job open for over four months. It also assumes the new bonus is actually paid, and leaves out any increment your current employer would give you while you wait, which would widen the gap.
To run your own numbers, add up three things:
The bonus you would give up. Use last year's figure if you have nothing better, and don't count a discretionary bonus as certain.
The extra pay you would miss by waiting. That is your monthly rise multiplied by the months of delay.
Any first-year bonus you would miss by joining later. Ask the new employer whether it is pro-rated, and from what date.
If the first figure is bigger than the other two combined, waiting pays, as long as the offer survives. Remember that this is only the cash. A better role can be worth more than the difference, and Hays found that 58% of Malaysian professionals who got a rise above 10% in 2025 did so by changing employers. Offers like that don't always come round again.
Ask the new employer to close the gap
Hiring managers know about bonus season, so raising it is normal. You have three things to ask for:
A later start date. Even a few weeks may get your last day past the payment date.
A sign-on payment. Ask for some or all of the bonus you'd give up. Read the terms, because sign-on payments often have to be repaid if you leave early.
A better first-year bonus. Ask for a guaranteed or non-pro-rated first bonus, and get it in the offer letter.
You could say:
"I'm keen to join. My current bonus is paid at the end of March, and I'd lose about two months' salary by resigning before then. Could we look at a start date in June, or a sign-on payment to cover part of it?"
Be honest about the figure, since some employers ask to see last year's bonus letter or payslip. Our guide to answering the expected salary question shows how to count your bonus in your total pay.
Before you hand in your letter
Read the bonus clause yourself, plus any handbook or policy it refers to. Asking HR what happens if you resign can tip them off.
Check for a repayment clause in last year's bonus letter.
Get the new offer signed before you resign, with the start date in writing.
Wait until the bonus is in your account, not just announced, if your wording requires it.
Use our resignation letter templates and ask HR to confirm your last day in writing.
If you are owed a contractual bonus and it isn't paid, raise it with HR in writing first. If that fails, you can bring a claim to the Labour Department. The same applies if money is deducted from your final pay and no one can show you the basis for it.
This is general information, not legal advice. Contract wording matters, so speak to a lawyer or the Labour Department (JTK) if a large sum is at stake.
Sources
MEF: Nearly 90pc of Malaysian workers got pay hikes in 2025, average bonus two months, Malay Mail, 5 December 2025
Over a third of Malaysian professionals unhappy with their pay, Staffing Industry Analysts, 13 April 2026
The Law on Bonus Payments, Donovan & Ho
Kesatuan Pekerja-pekerja Perkilangan Perusahaan Makanan v Etika Dairies Sdn Bhd [2023] 4 ILR 437, Industrial Court, headnote via SupremeToday and LLB Bulletin #1/2024
