More than 30,000 applications have been submitted by employers under the wage subsidy scheme, says the Social Security Organisation (Socso).

It said the majority of employers who applied for the programme were suffering from lower cash flow and drop in sales due to Covid-19, The Star Online reports.

“As of April 10, the employment insurance system (EIS) received 31,324 applications from employers, involving 299,858 employees,” Socso said when contacted.

From the 31,324 applications, a total of 30,798 are companies with a workforce of below 75 employees; 448 are companies with between 76 and 200 workers, and 78 companies with more than 201 staff.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced several initiatives through the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus package to help those affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, including the RM600 monthly wage subsidy programme.

The subsidy programme came into effect on April 1. It was an extension of the employment retention programme announced in the Economic Stimulus Package 2020 on March 16.

Socso said Selangor recorded the highest number of applications from 8,963 employers, involving 85,915 employees.

See also: Nearly Half Self-Employed Workers in Malaysia Lost Jobs During MCO

Under the additional initiative, all companies with local employees earning a monthly salary each of RM4,000 or less are eligible for wage subsidies.

For companies with a workforce of more than 200 people, the government will provide a wage subsidy of RM600 per month for every retained worker.

However, the maximum number of workers that a company is eligible to claim for was increased from 100 to 200 employees.

For companies with between 75 and 200 employees, they will receive a wage subsidy of RM800 per month for every employee, while companies with fewer than 75 employees will be provided a wage subsidy of RM1,200 per month per employee.

While there are no conditions set for companies with fewer than 75 workers, companies from the other two categories will have to prove that their income has decreased by more than 50 percent compared to January of this year.

This assistance is for a three-month period and is specifically for employers registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia or local authorities before Jan 1,2020 and are registered with Socso.

Read also: Malaysian Employers to Get Wage Subsidies to Encourage Retention