How Much Can You Claim From EIS If You Lose Your Job?
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Introduced in 2018, the Employment Insurance System (EIS) is designed as a safety net for workers who have lost their jobs due to retrenchment or other similar circumstances.
It provides financial support for those who are between jobs, allowing them some peace of mind while looking for their next source of employment. However, it also means that all of us will be contributing a portion of our salaries to the system.
What is the EIS?
The EIS is managed by the Social Security Organisation (Socso) and is meant to enable retrenched workers to make ends meet for up to six months. It functions similarly to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), where contributions will go into a pooled fund and then the fund will be invested.
The EIS is not only offered to those who have been retrenched but also those who resigned due to threats to themselves or their families. This even includes sexual harassment at work.
EIS covers these situations of loss of employment:
- Normal retrenchment and redundancy
- VSS/MSS (Voluntary/Mutual Separation Scheme)
- Closure of the company due to natural disasters
- Bankruptcy or closure of the company
- Constructive dismissal
- Resignation due to sexual harassment or threats made in the workplace
- Resignation after being ordered to perform dangerous duties that are not within the job scope
How the EIS works
Every employee in the private sector is automatically enrolled into the EIS, and it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that contributions are made through salary deductions. However, note that the EIS does not cover domestic workers, the self-employed, civil servants, and workers in local authorities and statutory bodies
Employers and employees contribute 0.2% of an employee’s salary each; this means that the total contribution would be 0.4% of an employee’s monthly salary.
The minimum eligible monthly salary can be as low as RM300, where the 0.4% will see them contributing just RM1.20 each month. On the other hand, the maximum eligible monthly salary contribution is capped at RM6,000. So even if you’re earning more than RM6,000 a month, the contribution from you and your employer is fixed at 0.4% of RM6,000, leading to the maximum amount of contribution capped at RM19.80 per month.
Should you lose your job, then you will be able to claim a number of benefits from the insurance scheme.
How to claim EIS benefits
Insured persons can claim two types of benefits for up to 6 months. They consist of both monetary benefits and job search assistance. The next section explains what is included in these benefits.
If you qualify as an insured person, you can claim these benefits by following these steps:
- Apply for your EIS claim within 60 days from the date you lose your job.
- Fulfill the Contributions Qualifying Conditions (CQC) which means that you have paid the monthly contributions for the required number of months
- Your job or employment loss is within the classification of the EIS Act.
What can you claim when you are retrenched?
Contribution to EIS began in 2018, with claims being allowed from 2019 onwards. In addition to financial support, it also began providing additional benefits such as:
Financial benefits
- Job search allowance
- Reduced income allowance
- Training fee – paid directly to vocational training service providers
- Training allowance
- Early re-employment allowance
Job-hunting assistance
- Re-employment placement programme
- Career counseling
Two of these benefits are paid as one-off allowances (reduced income allowance and early re-employment allowance), with the others providing benefits for up to six months.
Here’s how much you can claim from EIS if you get retrenched:
Kamal has been working for a few years and has contributed to the EIS for about five years. His last drawn salary was RM8,000 before he was retrenched. Because EIS caps contributions at RM6,000, he will receive a job search allowance based on this lower amount.
When he makes a claim with EIS, he gets a percentage of his last drawn salary every month, until the sixth month. Here’s an example of the percentage and amount he may get:
| Month | Percentage | Claim Received |
|---|---|---|
| First Month | 80% | RM4,800 |
| Second Month | 50% | RM3,000 |
| Third Month | 40% | RM2,400 |
| Fourth Month | 40% | RM2,400 |
| Fifth Month | 30% | RM1,800 |
| Sixth Month | 30% | RM1,800 |
Who will really benefit from the EIS?
This new insurance scheme is meant to help those who are trying to get back up on their feet after such a major loss, but the question remains: how much can it really help?
For example, if you are earning RM10,000 monthly, your EIS benefits is still based on a RM6,000 a month income. This means that even if retrenched, the EIS will not cover your full salary. However, you may still have to maintain high financial commitments such as multiple mortgages, loans, and credit cards.
If you are earning above RM6,000, it would be best to look for ways to diversify your income either by investments, part-time jobs or even starting your own business. You should work towards having a sizeable emergency fund stashed for rainy days. However, for those who are earning below RM6,000, the EIS can provide a financial buffer to help you get back on your feet for six months.
Just as how having SOCSO proves to be helpful for those who are injured during work, the EIS aims to protect employees from retrenchment by ensuring fair remuneration for them.
