OSHA

Vol. 3, No. 1

Journal of Politics and Law

Employees’ Rights under the Malaysian Social Security Organisation
Rooshida Merican Binti Abdul Rahim Merican
Faculty of Law
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
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Abstract
This article discusses on the remedies available to the injured employees under the Employees’ Social Security Act 1969
(ESSA 1969) (Note 1). Remedies are the means given by the law for the recovery of a right, or of compensation for the infringement thereof (Note 2). Since employees covered by ESSA 1969 are not eligible for workmen’s compensation, they are only eligible for benefits administered by the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) (Note 3). The relevant issues in this article pertain to the curtailment of the employees’ rights to a claim under SOCSO as once an employee is injured, the employee must know what to do, what are the benefits and remedies available, the laws applicable, how to withdraw the contributions and so on. The article introduces a discussion on ESSA 1969, that is, the purpose of the Act, the requirements for eligibility of the benefits and the contributions. As the object of ESSA 1969 is to provide, through
SOCSO, social security to employees and their dependants in the event of injury or death arising in the course of employment under the employment injury insurance scheme and the invalidity pension scheme, the study then examines the two SOCSO’s schemes. This article also discusses the various benefits available under the insurance schemes focusing on benefits that are directly related to employees.
Keywords: Employees’ right, Malaysian Social Security Organisation, Employees’ Social Security Act 1969
1. Introduction
SOCSO is a statutory body under the Ministry of Human Resources. It was established in January 1971 to improve social security protection by social insurance including

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