Effective from 1 July 2024, Social Security Organisation (SOCSO / PERKESO) has extended Invalidity Scheme coverage to foreign workers. Previously, foreign workers were only covered under the Employment Injury Scheme (Category 2).
With this update, foreign workers will now follow the same SOCSO contribution category structure as local employees:
Category 1 – Employment Injury Scheme and Invalidity Scheme (for employees below 60 years old)
Category 2 – Employment Injury Scheme only (for employees aged 60 and above)
What Should Be Updated for Affected Foreign Workers?
Ensure the Foreigner option is enabled in the employee profile.
Steps to Update Foreign Worker Status:
Go to Payroll > Employee Maintenance.
Locate the employee and click the pencil icon.
Go to Employee.
Ensure the Foreigner checkbox is enabled.
Proceed to Statutory Requirements and locate SOCSO settings.
Click Save changes.
What to do if I have multiple employees that need to be edited at once?
Use Batch Edit to ensure and update the employee status as a foreigner by checking the option Is Foreigner. Please take note to click Update and Save after making the changes.
How to Update Multiple Employees at Once?
Users may use the Batch Edit feature to update multiple employees efficiently.
Steps to Batch Edit Foreign Worker Status:
Go to Payroll > Employee Maintenance.
Click Batch Edit.
Click the column chooser icon and select SOCSO Category.
Tick the employees to be updated.
Select the relevant statutory or employee detail field.
Right click and select Apply this value to selected rows.
Click Save.
Which SOCSO Category Should Be Selected?
Category 1 –
Foreign workers below 60 years old
Foreign workers who have previously contributed to the PERKESO scheme
Category 2 –
Foreign workers who have reached age 55 and never contributed to PERKESO before
Foreign workers aged 60 years old and above
Other Required Changes
No additional system setup is required. Users may continue processing payroll, reports, and electronic payments as usual. The payroll process and statutory submission flow remain the same as local employees.
