Required certification · Malaysia
SOCSO / PERKESO
Mandatory employer registration for injury, invalidity & EIS protection
Market position
The statutory body under the Employees' Social Security Act 1969 and the EIS Act 2017 — employers register and contribute via the ASSIST portal. Especially load-bearing in construction given on-site injury risk.
Malaysia-specific note
An employer must register within 30 days of hiring (Form 1 / ASSIST) and contribute monthly for Employment Injury & Invalidity plus EIS by the 15th — and because the mandatory CIDB Green Card bundles only a basic personal-accident Takaful, SOCSO is the real injury backbone on site.
Pros
- + Employment-injury, invalidity and EIS coverage (critical for construction risk)
- + A single ASSIST portal for combined SOCSO + EIS
- + Demonstrates statutory compliance for tenders/audits
- + Covers foreign workers (Employment Injury since 2019, Invalidity since 2024)
Cons
- − 30-day registration after the first hire
- − Monthly contribution due by the 15th
- − Non-compliance risks fines up to RM10,000 and/or 2 years' imprisonment
- − Statutory scope/rates — you cannot opt out
Typical Malaysia pricing
No registration fee; statutory rates apply.
Why this matters for Malaysia trades
CIDB (the Construction Industry Development Board) registers and grades contractors G1–G7 by project value and issues the mandatory Green Card for site workers under Act 520 — registration is required to undertake or bid construction work; LHDN/IRBM runs income tax, SST and the MyInvois e-invoicing system (XML/JSON with a validated UIN and QR code); SSM (the Companies Commission of Malaysia) handles company incorporation; the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) registers engineers; and employers must register every worker with EPF/KWSP (provident fund), SOCSO/PERKESO (social security) and EIS.
Malaysian construction & trades software selection is shaped above all by MyInvois — the national e-invoicing system run by LHDN/IRBM (the Inland Revenue Board), phasing in by turnover (largest firms since August 2024, mid-market through 2025, businesses above RM1m from January 2026, and the smallest firms following). Construction is treated as a special case: many progress claims and certain transactions must be e-invoiced individually rather than batched into a monthly consolidated e-invoice — so "MyInvois-ready / LHDN-compliant" is the lead selling point for local accounting and construction-ERP vendors. Add the Ringgit (MYR), SST (Sales & Service Tax, not VAT), CIDB G1–G7 contractor grading across ~130,000 registered contractors, and a government digitalisation grant nudging SMEs onto the software. Business runs in English.
Frequently asked
Is SOCSO / PERKESO a good fit for Malaysia trades?
The statutory body under the Employees' Social Security Act 1969 and the EIS Act 2017 — employers register and contribute via the ASSIST portal. Especially load-bearing in construction given on-site injury risk. An employer must register within 30 days of hiring (Form 1 / ASSIST) and contribute monthly for Employment Injury & Invalidity plus EIS by the 15th — and because the mandatory CIDB Green Card bundles only a basic personal-accident Takaful, SOCSO is the real injury backbone on site.
What does SOCSO / PERKESO cost in Malaysia?
No registration fee; statutory rates apply.. Pricing and availability can change by region — confirm current Malaysia pricing on the vendor's site before committing.