Section 7
Rate of contributions
of Employee Trust Act ( Formerly Known as Tabung Amanah Pekerja Act )
(1)
Subject to any regulations made under section 38, every employer of an employee shall pay to the Trust monthly in respect of each employee contributions at the appropriate rates as shall be prescribed by the regulations under section 38, except that the Board may, in its discretion and on such terms and conditions as it may impose, authorise an employer or a class or classes of employers to pay those contributions at other intervals not exceeding 6 months.
(2)
Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law or any contract to the contrary, an employer shall be entitled to recover from the monthly wages of an employee the amount recoverable from the employee.
(3)
Where any employer who has recovered any amount from the monthly wages of an employee in accordance with subsection (2) fails to pay the contributions to the Trust within such time as may be prescribed, he is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.
(4)
Without prejudice to subsections (1) and (2) —
(a)
an employee may at any time contribute voluntarily to the
Trust a sum additional to that prescribed by regulations under section 38(1) as payable by the employee;
(b)
an employee may pay contributions in excess of the appropriate rate by —
(i)
deduction by his employer from his monthly wages by giving to his employer written notice to that effect, and if he desires to cease to have such excess monthly contributions deducted from his wages he shall give written notice to his employer to that effect; or
(ii)
paying directly to the Trust in such manner as may be approved by the Board; or
(c)
an employer may at any time pay to the Trust contributions in respect of any of his employees at a rate in excess of the appropriate rate prescribed by regulations under section 38(1).
Employee Trust 16
(5)
Notwithstanding any contract to the contrary, an employer shall not be entitled to recover in any way from an employee in respect of contributions payable under this Act any sum in excess of that permitted to be recovered under subsection (2) together with any sum contributed voluntarily by the employee under subsection (4) and any employer who recovers or attempts to recover any greater sum is guilty of an offence.
(6)
The portion of any contribution recoverable from the wages of any employee in accordance with subsections (2) and (4) shall be recovered by the employer from the wages in respect of which the contribution is payable at the time of payment of those wages and not otherwise:
Provided that, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by the
Board, where an employer has by error not occasioned by that employer’s negligence, omitted to recover from the wages paid to an employee any amount or part of any amount that he would otherwise have been entitled to recover at the time of payment of the wages, the amount or part thereof may be recovered from the wages payable by the employer to the employee not later than 6 months from the date of the payment of the wages in respect of which the amount or part thereof was omitted to be recovered.
(7)
Notwithstanding subsection (6), where wages are payable at intervals of less than one month, the employer may deduct from that employee’s wages at the time of each payment.
(8)
In the event of the death of an employee, no contributions shall be due under this section by or on behalf of such employee in respect of the month during which such death occurs:
Provided that where any such contribution has been received it shall be carried to the Trust in accordance with section 14.
(9)
All employees and every employer of such employees are liable to pay monthly contributions at the rates respectively prescribed by regulations under section 38(1).