If you drive for Grab, deliver food, or earn through any platform-based work in Malaysia, your Social Security Organisation (Socso) protection is already active as soon as you register with your platform and accept your first task. Socso confirmed this on 19 May 2026 in a statement responding to concerns raised by Persatuan Rakan Penghantar Melaka (RPM), a delivery worker association, about protection under the Gig Workers Act 2025 (Act 872).

The Act came into force in March 2026 and made Socso contributions mandatory for gig workers for the first time.

Coverage Does Not Require Upfront Payment

Socso uses a postpaid model under the Act. Once you register with a platform provider and accept your first task, a year of coverage kicks in automatically.

Protection remains active even if you go several days without bookings, or if you haven’t yet paid the minimum monthly contribution of RM13.10. You don’t need to pay contributions upfront.

Contributions Are Deducted Per Completed Task

The platform deducts contributions automatically at 1.25% from each completed task’s earnings. All platforms operating under Act 872 are required to link their systems with Socso to enable this.

If the total deducted falls short of RM13.10 for the month, Section 83(e) of the Act requires the platform to notify you. You would then need to pay the difference.

You can check your accumulated contributions and protection status through the Prihatin application.

The Shift From Voluntary To Mandatory Coverage

Before the Act took effect, coverage depended on the Lindung Kendiri scheme, which gig workers had to sign up for and contribute to voluntarily. As of early 2026, only around 26% of Malaysia’s estimated 1.16 million gig workers were actively contributing.

On irregular income, keeping contributions up was difficult. A slow stretch or a switch to a different platform often meant coverage lapsed without any clear signal.

Under the new model, platforms such as Grab and Foodpanda are required to register their workers and handle deductions automatically, so you no longer need to manage enrolment yourself. This concern   was raised by RPM, and Socso’s clarification answers it very well.

Coverage For Part-Time And Multi-Platform Workers

If you’ve registered with a platform covered by Act 872 and completed at least one task, you should already have a year of Socso protection in place, regardless of how frequently or recently you worked.

The scheme covers work-related injuries and occupational diseases, with medical, disability, and dependants’ benefits available to you. It sits separately from your EPF savings and any other insurance you carry.

The Act covers platforms in goods delivery, food delivery, passenger transport, and hawker-related services. If you work across more than one platform at the same time, Socso hasn’t yet clarified how your contributions are handled across platforms.

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Christina Chandra

Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister’s cats.

About THE AUTHOR

Christina Chandra

Christina Chandra

Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister's cats.

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