KUALA LUMPUR – Social Security Organisation (Socso) contributors may soon be able to make claims even if they suffer injuries due to accidents occurring outside of work.
The proposed No-Fault Accident (NFA) coverage, which has been in the works for years, has been submitted to the Human Resources Ministry.
The agency, however, did not provide a date on when it would be implemented.
“A survey conducted by Socso a few years ago revealed that 93% of employers and employees are supportive of the coverage for non-employment injuries through NFA.
“We have studied the matter and come up with the proposal to implement the NFA coverage. It provides protection against all types of accidents regardless of their causes.
“Socso is now working with the Human Resources Ministry to finalise the proposed coverage,” it said in an email reply to The Vibes.
Presently, although workers insured by Socso are protected 24 hours under the Employees’ Social Security Act 1969, claims are only limited to accidents or other contingencies occurring during or arising out of their employment activities.
This is stipulated under Socso’s Employment Injury Scheme and is separate to the Invalidity Scheme, which protects contributors against invalidity or death due to any cause and may not necessarily be related to their employment.
Socso’s statement was in response to calls by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) for the agency to introduce an all-round injury coverage that is not limited to work or work-related activities.
“This will allow staff to make claims for any kind of injuries. It will also ensure there is no delay for claims, as Socso does not need to investigate to determine if the injuries are work-related, as per the current requirement,” MEF executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan told The Vibes earlier this month.
He had suggested that for this to be implemented, workers would contribute slightly more than their current contribution of 0.5% of their wages for the Employment Injury Scheme and Invalidity Scheme.
At present, employers have to contribute 1.75% of their employees’ salary.
However, Socso has assured that it does not intend to increase the contribution rate any time soon, both among employers and employees, despite being among the lowest in the world.
“At this moment, considering the current economic situation due to the pandemic, we have no plans to increase the rate so as to support the post-pandemic recovery,” it said.
To ensure sufficient and sustainable funds, the agency will instead invest more in prevention programmes as well as the promotion of occupational safety, health and employability.
This is considering Socso’s funds are largely affected by the number of accidents, non-communicable disease cases and unemployment in the country.
“The social security funds will be able to sustain better if these factors are controlled,” it said.
Additionally, Socso said it is implementing more rehabilitation strategies as well as active labour market intervention to ensure affected workers could return to work or at least be reintegrated into society. – The Vibes, October 23, 2020
