Due to the recent unprecedented times of the economic downfall that flushed over Malaysian employees, thousands were ripped from their respective jobs in efforts to cope with the plunging economy in the country.

The unemployment rate in Malaysia has been tremendously effected with nearly 30,000 businesses shut down, and some companies were compelled to downsize Due to loss of profits.

Employees under the private sector are now able to claim unemployment benefits under the Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS) to help fund themselves during their unemployment period.

The EIS, Socso’s scheme, is intended to support workers that have lost their jobs.

Under this programme, the EIS will provide you with financial incentives based on your previous salary from your last job.

This is offered under the job Search Allowance (JSA), where once you find a new job, you will be offered with a certain percentage from your previous salary.

But that’s not all, as they can also help you find a new job during these tough times, which can be a really challenging task now if you were to find a job on your own. If you work in the private sector, chances are that you have signed up for it already.

To make sure your eligibility for this scheme, search your paycheck for the monthly deductions that you’re entitled to pay. There should be one that says ‘Employee EIS’ along with your EPF and Socso contributions. This will be a donation from you to the EIS fund.

The contribution is important because by deducting a percentage of your monthly pay, the EIS fund works to help you during such unprecedented times.

All private sector employees aged between 18-60 years of age are required to contribute to the insurance fund. T4,e-contribution rate is fixed at RM4000, so even though you gain over RM4,000, just 0.2 percent of RM4,000, or RM8, would be paid.

Bear in mind that the EIS would not compensate staff over the age of 57 who may have never contributed to the fund.

There is also no EIS coverage for domestic employees, civil servants and self-employed workers.

Under EIS, you’re only allowed to receive benefits if you lost your job due to these reasons:

Normal retrenchment and redundancy
You accepted your company’s Voluntary or Mutual Separation Scheme (VSS or MSS)
Your company closed down due to natural disasters
Your company went bankrupt or closed down
Constructive dismissal (your company breached your contract so you quit your job)
You resigned due to sexual harassment or was threatened at your workplace
You resigned because you were ordered to do something dangerous that isn’t in your job scope

If you lost your job due to the above reasons, then you’re eligible to receive unemployment benefits. But there are certain situations where you will not be eligible for the EIS unemployment benefits. These are:

You’re fired due to a misconduct
You resigned voluntarily
You retired
Your contract expired

Employees under EIS benefits are able to get up to 80% of their salary.

You will be given an allowance for a minimum of 3 months, and a maximum of 6 months. The amount given is:

1st month: 80% of your assumed salary
2nd month: 50% of your assumed salary
3rd & 4th month: 40% of your assumed salary
5th & 6th month: 30% of your assumed salary

This amount will be calculated based on your assumed salary, which is based on your previous salary.

Suppose you earned RM3,569 per month before losing your job. Based on this chart from SOCSO, your assumed salary will be listed as RM3,550. So based on that salary, the amount you will be given per month is:

1st month: RM2,840 (80%)
2nd month: RM1,775 (50%)
3rd & 4th month: RM1,420 (40%)
5th and 6th month: RM1,065 (30%)

But there is also an added requirement to continue receiving the payment.

Once you’ve received the first month’s allowance, you are required to prove that you’ve been actively searching for a job, in order to receive the next 2-5 months of benefits.

Bear in mind, employees will only benefit from the EIS if they apply for this within 60 days of unemployment!

Unemployed staffs, you can head to Socso’s website HERE to apply for the Job Search Allowance (JSA).

You will need to prepare these documents for your application.

Your IC
Proof of loss of employment (eg. termination letter)
A copy of your bank account information
Your payslip for the last 6 months

After signing up, you’ll be notified through email if your application was accepted. If you were rejected, you could make an appeal to the SOCSO board. Due to the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), it might not be open right now.

To those that will like to make an appeal, do contact SOCSO’s hotline at 1-300-22-8000, or email them at eis@perkeso.gov.my!

Source: ASKLEGAL.my