Income help after losing your job
A government scheme can pay you while you look for work, on top of any claim.
The Employment Insurance System, often shortened to EIS or SIP, is a government scheme. It exists alongside any dismissal claim you may be considering, not instead of it.
What it means
It gives temporary financial help to employees who lose their jobs involuntarily. Examples are retrenchment, company closure or an accepted separation scheme.
Support can include a Job Search Allowance paid for three to six months, plus other help such as training. A claim must be lodged within 60 days of your termination.1
Why it matters to you
This deadline runs separately from the 60-day window for an unfair dismissal claim. The two happen to be the same length.
Losing track of one while you focus on the other is a common and avoidable mistake. Treat them as two separate clocks from day one.
How do you claim it
You apply through PERKESO, the body that runs this scheme. You will need your termination details and employment records from your former employer.
If your job ended through retrenchment and you believe the redundancy was not genuine, you can pursue that separately while your EIS claim runs its own course.
Check your unfair dismissal filing window too, on the deadline calculator, so neither deadline slips past you.
If you lost your job and are weighing an Employment Insurance System claim alongside a dismissal claim, an independent employment lawyer can assess your facts. They can tell you how they would act on it.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.
Common questions
Can I claim EIS and also file an unfair dismissal claim?
Yes, these are separate processes with different purposes. EIS provides short-term income support, while an unfair dismissal claim asks whether the dismissal itself was fair.
Does EIS apply if I resigned myself?
It is aimed at employees who lose work involuntarily, such as through retrenchment or closure. A plain voluntary resignation would not usually qualify.
Sources
- The Employment Insurance System gives temporary financial help, including a Job Search Allowance for three to six months, to employees who lose their jobs involuntarily, and a claim must be lodged within 60 days of termination. malaysia.gov.my, Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS)
Keep reading
If you lost your job and are weighing an Employment Insurance System claim alongside a dismissal claim, an independent employment lawyer can assess your facts. They can tell you how they would act on it.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.