KUALA LUMPUR | All companies with workers paid RM4,000 a month or less are eligible for the government’s wage subsidy scheme, according to the Human Resources Ministry.
The RM5.9 billion wage subsidy was initially announced in the RM250 billion Prihatin stimulus package and was increased to RM13.8 billion in the Prihatin Plus package for small-medium enterprises.
In the ministry’s frequently-asked-questions (FAQ), however, it said the subsidy was open to all firms.
“The wage subsidy is a financial assistance paid to employers of every enterprise, for each worker earning RM4,000 and below and for a period of three months only.
“The purpose of the wage subsidy programme is to help employers affected economically by Covid-19 to continue operations and avoid the loss of jobs and income streams for all enterprises,” it said.
The scheme is effective from April and employers who accept the subsidy must undertake to retain their workers for the three months the subsidy is paid and another three months after.
Companies with over 200 staff are eligible to receive RM600 per worker for up to 200 employees under the expanded stimulus, up from 100 previously.
Firms with between 76 and 200 workers are entitled to RM800 each while those with fewer than 76 employees may seek RM1,200 for each person earning below RM4,000.
However, the two larger groups of employers must demonstrate that their revenues have fallen by at least half since January.
The subsidy is also only available to companies registered prior to 2020 and limited to Malaysian employees.
