ERP & Wage Subsidy, 9.4.

2020

Briefly, insofar as the private sectors are concerned, there are two financial
assistance programmes namely “Program Pengekalan Pekerjaan” (Employment
Retention Programme / ERP) and “Program Subsidi Upah - penambahbaikan”
(Wage Subsidy) announced by the government on 27 th March 2020 and 6th April
2020 respectively, under “PRIHATIN” economic stimulus package – in view of the
Covid-19 outbreak.

I have simplified the important information in respect of the said programmes as

follows:

ERP:

ERP
Requirements  Private sector employees including part-time workers
who are registered or contributing to the Employment
Insurance System (EIS)
 Monthly wage of RM4,000.00 and below
 Implementation of notice of unpaid leave with the
consent of employees and employers for 1 to 6
months (minimum unpaid leave is 30 days) starting
from the notice issued on 1st March 2020
How to apply  Application to be made starting from 20 th March 2020
by using “borang permohonan ERPC-19” downloaded
from www.perkeso.gov.my
 Application to be sent through email to
erpc19@perkeso.gov.my
Duration 1 to 6 months based on the notice of unpaid leave issued
by employers.
Modus of payment ERP payment will be credited to the employees through
their employers within 7 days after receiving payment
from PERKESO.
sources:

1. https://www.perkeso.gov.my/index.php/en/wage-subsidy-programme
2. https://www.perkeso.gov.my/index.php/ms/kenyataan-media

Wage Subsidy
 ERP & Wage Subsidy, 9.4.2020

The criteria and amount of subsidy depends on the size of the workforce of the
business:

Employers with 75 Employers with 76 Employers with

workers or less to 200 workers more than 200
WAGE SUBSIDY
workers
Amount of subsidy RM 1,200.00 RM 800.00 RM 600.00
received
Number of workers 75 employees 200 employees 200 employees
that can be
claimed (limit of
claim)
Applicable  Employees with monthly wages of RM 4,000 and below
employees
- It must be noted that employers can choose any (or all,
if applicable) local employees earning RM4,000 and
below to receive this wage subsidy.
- Definition of “wages” must be based on the definition
provided under Employees’ Social Security Act 1969
(to refer Act)

 Employers and employees must be registered with and

contributing to PERKESO
Employers’ criteria  Employers must be registered with Companies
Commission of Malaysia or the applicable local authorities
before 1st January 2020
 Employers must have commenced operations before 1 st
January 2020
Requirements to No requirement Employers must be able to demonstrate
show loss of a decrease in revenue of at least 50%
revenue from January 2020 compared to the
following months through supporting
documents – employers must make a
statutory declaration of a company
experiencing more than 50% decline in
revenue by comparing the total sales in
 ERP & Wage Subsidy, 9.4.2020

January 2020 and subsequent months

by including supporting evidence such
as financial statements or sales reports
which have been approved by the
management.
Other  For employers who chose to receive this financial
requirements assistance, they are required to retain their employees for
at least for a period of 6 months, that is 3 months on this
wage subsidy and 3 months thereafter.

 In the event of voluntary resignation / voluntary

termination of employment of workers within the period the
first 3 months of the Wage Subsidy Programme,
employers are not required to make a new application but
instead, they are only required to update their employees'
information according to the system's eligibility. Legal
actions will be imposed to employers who failed to do the
same.
How to apply The application must be submitted by the employer through
the PERKESO website prihatin.perkeso.gov.my from 9th April
2020
Duration 3 months from 1st April 2020 to 31st December 2020 subject
to the remaining funds provided, or any decision made by the
Government in due course.
Required  List of employees’ names (according to the size of
documents for workforce)
application
purposes  Employer’s bank account information (a copy of the
front page of the bank statement only)

 Business Registration Number (BRN) information that

was registered by the employer while opening the
bank account as stated above.

- BRN is the employers’ business registration

 ERP & Wage Subsidy, 9.4.2020

number that was registered by the employers while

opening the current bank account (to refer banks)

- BRN form has to be downloaded from

prihatin.perkeso.gov.my and to be uploaded on the
same website after everything has been filled in

- This information is needed for the payment to be

made straight to the employer’s account via
Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT)

 Copies of SSM / ROS / ROB / Professional Service,

Scientific or Technical authorities / Business License
(as far as legal firms are concerned – Malaysian Bar)

 PSU50 Statutory Declaration – a confirmation

document and a statutory declaration that the
employer confirms or declares the things contained
therein are true and correct for the purpose of applying
for the Wage Subsidy Program.
Application 15th September 2020 or subject to the remaining funds
deadline provided, or any decision made by the Government in due
course
Modus of payment  Wage subsidy payment will be credited to the employers’
accounts within 7 to 14 days after approval.

 Employers should pay their employees' actual salary as

usual and then to make an application for Wage Subsidy
Program. Wage subsidy assistance received from
PERKESO is a financial aid to the employers. PERKESO
contribution payment and EIS are compulsory based on
the employees’ actual salary.
sources:

1. https://www.perkeso.gov.my/index.php/en/wage-subsidy-programme
2. https://www.perkeso.gov.my/images/pengumuman/psu/FAQ_PSUWage_Subsidy_-_7April2020.pdf
 ERP & Wage Subsidy, 9.4.2020

3. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/04/581935/full-text-pms-speech-additional-prihatin-sme-economic-
stimulus-package
4. https://www.malaysia.ahk.de/fileadmin/AHK_Malaysia/Downloads/Perkeso_FAQ_Wage_Subsidy_Progra
m.pdf

The following are not eligible to apply for Wage Subsidy programme:

1. Employers who registered and began operations on or after 1st January 2020

2. Employers and employees who have not registered with or contributing to

PERKESO

3. Employees who have received the financial aid under the ERP for the same
months

4. Employees who are earning above RM 4,000 a month

5. Employees who have already been dismissed

6. Civil servants or employees of statutory bodies, local authorities and those who
are self-employed including freelancers

7. Foreign employees and trade officers

source:

https://www.perkeso.gov.my/images/pengumuman/psu/FAQ_PSUWage_Subsidy_-_7April2020.pdf

If an application for Wage Subsidy Program has already been made as per the
announcement on 27th March 2020.

It must also be noted that the first announcement made by the government in
respect of Wage Subsidy program was on 27 th March 2020. However the upgraded
Wage Subsidy Program that was announced on 6 th April 2020 has replaced the one
that was announced on 27 th March 2020. In this regard, for employers who have
applied for the Wage Subsidy that are in line with the announcement made on 27 th
March 2020 AND have more than 100 employees, employers can now submit a new
 ERP & Wage Subsidy, 9.4.2020

application for the remaining employees amount which do not exceed 200 persons.
The requirements are as per the table above.

source:

https://www.perkeso.gov.my/images/pengumuman/psu/FAQ_PSUWage_Subsidy_-_7April2020.pdf

Employers who have received ERP

Employers who met the requirements of the Wage Subsidy programme may submit
an application despite having received an ERP before. However, the company
cannot claim the Wage Subsidy for employees who have received ERP assistance
on the same month.

source:

https://www.perkeso.gov.my/images/pengumuman/psu/FAQ_PSUWage_Subsidy_-_7April2020.pdf

Employers who have registered before 1 st January 2020 but have not
registered with PERKESO

Any employer who wishes to apply for Wage Subsidy Programme but has yet to
register with SOCSO must meet the following requirements:

 Already registered with SSM, Local Authorities or Professional Service, Scientific

or Technical authorities before 1st January 2020

 Have at least one employee

 To register with PERKESO

source:

https://www.perkeso.gov.my/images/pengumuman/psu/FAQ_PSUWage_Subsidy_-_7April2020.pdf

Different companies within the same group of companies to apply for the wage
subsidy.
 ERP & Wage Subsidy, 9.4.2020

They may do so provided they meet the criteria mentioned above. As for branches
that are treated as a same legal entity, limit of 200 employees will apply (limit of
claim).

source:

https://www.perkeso.gov.my/images/pengumuman/psu/FAQ_PSUWage_Subsidy_-_7April2020.pdf

Status of application

The employer will be notified of the status of the application by email. List of
employers who have been approved will also be displayed on the PERKESO
website https://eiscentre.perkeso.gov.my/ including the number of employees
approved.

source:

https://www.perkeso.gov.my/images/pengumuman/psu/FAQ_PSUWage_Subsidy_-_7April2020.pdf

Based on the above information, I am of the view that we may apply for the Wage
Subsidy programme based on my observation on the requirements provided by the
government. I believe that we are eligible for RM1,200.00 per employee subsidy
which falls under the first category (“Employers with 75 workers or less”).

The website page is however not working at the moment due to the large number of
applications made starting today. As such, I am not able to download the necessary
forms for ease of reference.

Hope this helps.