PETALING JAYA | Employers in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector who want to apply for the wage subsidy scheme can send in their applications to the Social Security Organisation (Socso) starting today.
According to a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) advisory issued by the Human Resource Ministry, applications can be done online at prihatin.perkeso.gov.my.
It added that the application for the subsidy closes on Sept 15, subject to how much funding remains or if the government makes any other decision. The wage subsidy will be credited to the employer’s account within seven to 14 days from the date of approval, said the FAQ.Employers will be notified of the status of their applications via email and the list of those approved will also be displayed on the Socso website eiscentre.perkeso.gov.my.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday said the wage subsidy programme announced on March 27 would be expanded from RM5.9bil to RM13.8bil.
Under the additional initiative, firms with local employees each earning RM4,000 monthly or less are eligible for wage subsidies.
For companies with 200 or more people, the government will provide a subsidy of RM600 per month for every retained worker.
However, the maximum number of workers a company is eligible to claim for was increased from 100 to 200 employees.
For companies with between 75 and 200 employees, they will receive a wage subsidy of RM800 per month for every employee, while companies with fewer than 75 workers will be provided with a subsidy of RM1,200 per month per worker.While there are no conditions for companies with fewer than 75 workers, companies of the other two categories will have to prove their income has decreased by more than 50% compared to January this year.
