EIS Job Search Allowance: What You Get and How to Claim It

What the Job Search Allowance actually pays

JSA is a percentage of your assumed monthly wage — the wage band PERKESO used to collect your contributions, which is capped at the RM6,000 insured-wage ceiling. It steps down each month to keep pressure on the job search:

What that works out to in ringgit

• Because the RM6,000 ceiling caps the assumed wage, a retrenched employee earning RM6,000 and one earning RM20,000 receive exactly the same JSA.
• Someone on RM4,000 whose full six months run would collect roughly RM3,200 + RM2,000 + RM1,600 + RM1,600 + RM1,200 + RM1,200 = about RM10,800 in total.
• Payment stops the month you start new employment — but see Early Re-Employment Allowance below, which is designed so that finding work early does not cost you money.

Which terminations qualify

EIS covers involuntary loss of employment (LOE). PERKESO lists these as qualifying:

• Normal retrenchment.
• VSS or MSS — voluntary and mutual separation schemes do count, despite the word 'voluntary'.
• Closure of the workplace due to a natural disaster.
• Bankruptcy or closure of the business.
• Constructive dismissal.
• Resignation because of sexual harassment or threats of violence at work.
• Resignation after being ordered to perform work outside your job scope that is dangerous to life.

And which do not

These situations fall outside the scheme entirely:

• You resigned voluntarily for ordinary reasons — a better offer, relocation, dissatisfaction.
• Your fixed-term contract simply reached its expiry date.
• You were dismissed for misconduct after due inquiry.
• You retired at the statutory or contractual retirement age.
• A contract was terminated early by mutual agreement without an MSS.

Get the termination letter wording right

The reason stated on your termination letter effectively decides the claim, and PERKESO verifies it with the employer. A letter that says 'resigned' when the reality was retrenchment will sink an otherwise valid application, so raise the wording with HR before you sign anything or clear out your desk — it is far harder to correct afterwards. If the employer disputes the reason, the claim goes to an appeal rather than an automatic rejection, so submit it anyway and let PERKESO decide rather than assuming you are ineligible.

The contribution test and the 60-day deadline

Two conditions must both be met. First, the Contributions Qualifying Condition: you need a minimum of 12 monthly EIS contributions within the 24 months before losing your job. How many months of JSA you get — between three and six — scales with how much contribution history you have beyond that minimum, so long-tenured employees get the full six months. Second, you must apply within 60 days of the LOE date. This is the single most common reason good claims fail.

Note that the 12-in-24 test looks at contributions, not employers. Job-hopping does not break your eligibility as long as every job was EIS-covered and the contributions were actually paid. It is worth checking your contribution history on the PERKESO portal while you are still employed — an employer who deducted EIS but never remitted it is a problem you want to discover before you need the money.

The other four benefits people forget to claim

• Early Re-Employment Allowance (ERA) — if you land a job while still receiving JSA, you get 25% of your remaining unpaid JSA as a lump sum. There is no financial reason to delay accepting an offer.
• Reduced Income Allowance (RIA) — for people who held more than one job and lost one but not all of them. Paid as a lump sum at the same rates.
• Training Allowance (TA) — RM10 to RM20 per day, depending on your assumed wage, while attending approved training.
• Training Fee (TF) — up to RM4,000 paid directly to the training provider for eligible JSA recipients. This is on top of the allowances, and it is the most under-used part of the scheme.

How to apply

• Apply online through the EIS Portal at eis.perkeso.gov.my, or in person at any PERKESO office.
• Have ready: your MyKad, the termination or retrenchment letter stating the reason and last day of work, your bank account details for the payout, and recent payslips.
• After approval, JSA is not automatic each month — you must submit a monthly re-employment report showing your job-search activity before the next payment is released.
• PERKESO also runs job-matching and placement services alongside the allowance; the caseworker assigned to you can refer you into them.

Important caveats

This guide is a general explanation of the Employment Insurance System Act 2017 as administered by PERKESO and is not legal advice. Rates, the wage ceiling and the qualifying conditions are set by law and revised periodically — the RM6,000 insured-wage ceiling has applied since 1 October 2024. The exact number of JSA months awarded depends on PERKESO's assessment of your contribution record, and the assumed monthly wage used is the contribution wage band, not necessarily your gross salary. Verify your own entitlement with PERKESO at perkeso.gov.my or 1-300-22-8000 before making financial plans around it. Use the calculator below to see what you and your employer are contributing each month.