KUALA LUMPUR: Business owners and workers in all sectors including retail and shopping malls, whose livelihood is affected as a result of Covid-19, can seek government's assistance under the Social Security Organisation's Employment Insurance System (SIP).
The Human Resources Ministry in a statement said the SIP is a social security net programme to assist those who have lost their jobs get replacement income and gain other employment, to ensure sustainability of their lives.
The ministry said those insured will be given advice and guidance, as well as opportunities to gain additional skills through training schemes provided by the government.
For the unemployed, the ministry said among the assistance under the SIP is the Job Seeking Allowance (Elaun Mencari Pekerjaan), a government initiative announced in the 2021 Budget, where an allowance will be given to those actively seeking employment where they will be paid for a minimum of three months and up to nine months.
There is also the Early Re-employment Allowance (Elaun Bekerja Semula Awal) where insured persons who are able to be employed swiftly will receive an allowance as an incentive to their initiative to seek employment. The Reduced Income Allowance (Elaun Pendapatan Berkurangan) is the allowance given to insured persons who have multiple employers, but have lost employment with any one of them.
The ministry said insured persons who are undergoing training will also be paid Training Allowance (Elaun Latihan) of between RM10 and RM20 a day for six months, with the benefit of receiving personal support to regain employment with the assistance of Socso employment service officer.
The ministry said applications for the SIP can be made online (https://eiscentre.perkeso.gov.my/ms/utama/), through its customer service centre (1-300-22-8000), email (eis@perkeso.gov.my) or at the nearest Socso counters.
Those who have lost their jobs can also get advice from the Labour Department and the Industrial Relations Department via online platforms.
Those who are seeking employment are also advised to log in to MyFutureJobs portal, where 242,598 active job vacancies are currently available.