Reprieve for employers who have yet to register their firms and employees with Socso.

Move an incentive for companies to register staff by end of June

PETALING JAYA: Employers who have yet to register their companies and employees with the Social Security Organisation (Socso) will be exempted from being fined for late payment contributions until June 30.

For those whose deadline to register has passed and those who have been issued fines, they will get up to a full discount if they come forward to register their staff.

Socso chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed revealed the good news during a virtual celebration of Socso’s Golden Jubilee yesterday.

“Any employer who voluntarily registers during this period will be exempted from the Interest Late Payment Contributions (ILPC).

“For employers who had been compounded, we are offering between 80% and a full discount if they come forward early,” he said.

He said this was being done as a form of appreciation for the support of the companies and employers over the years.

He added that the offer and discounts were also aimed at alleviating the financial burden of employers.

“Socso is aware of the difficulties employers are facing amid the pandemic. I call on employers who are qualified and have yet to register to do so soon,” he added.

Under the Employees Social Security Act 1969 and the Employment Insurance System Act 2017, employers may be subject to compounds of up to RM5,000 if they do not register the company and its employees with Socso.

Mohammed Azman said that based on the number of companies Socso visited during operations in over a decade, about 13% of employers were not registered and most of them were small enterprises with a small number of workers.

Calling on more employers to seize the opportunity to register and protect their workers, he said registration was simple and could be done through the Assist Perkeso portal at www.perkeso.gov.my.

Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan lauded Socso’s move.

He noted that most companies that had yet to register their workers were micro-enterprises, which were not aware of the requirements.

“Employers should not make their own assumption and risk breaking the law.

“They can always ask Socso or the relevant agencies to clear their doubts,” he added.

Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia) SMEs committee chairman Koong Lin Loong agreed, saying that most of these employers were not aware of the requirements and only learned about them when they received an audit visit from Socso.

“Up to 98.5% of businesses in Malaysia are small and medium enterprises and of these, 76.2% are micro-enterprises with less than RM300,000 annual turnover and with fewer than five full-time staff.

“We have slightly more than a million SMEs and if there are 10% that are not registered, it amounts to 76,000 companies, with even more unregistered employees,” he added.

Koong noted that employers, no matter how small, should keep abreast of the latest rules, regulations and government policies.