Pandemic COVID-19: the study on the social security protection at private sector organization in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur / Aisyatul Fadzirah Mansor and Nur Hidayatie Adnan

Social security protection can be defined as a public programs which aim to protect individuals or employees from economic and social distress. However, the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred in our country to some extent increased the burden of workers, especially those working in the private sector. The majority of Malaysians are said to not have enough savings to survive and trying to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. From that, the question of whether social security protection can be used as the assistance to help them cope with the crisis will be explored in detail by stating three main objectives; (i) To determine the knowledge and awareness of social security protection provided among private employees; (ii) To examine the effectiveness of social security protection for Malaysians during the COVID-19 pandemic; and (iii) To analyse the employer’s responsibilities in providing the social security protection during COVID-19 pandemic. To answer each research objectives and research question, an interviews was used as qualitative data conducted on 6 respondents in a private sector organization in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur. From the findings, it is evident that most private sector employees have good knowledge and awareness of the social security protection that had introduced by the government and their organizations. The effectiveness of social security protection for Malaysians during the COVID-19 pandemic was at an effective level as it helped to some extent to reduce their burden. However, the responsibility of employers is still at a poor level, especially in providing social security protection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, throughout the study conducted, it can be seen that employer’s responsibility plays an important role in ensuring their employee’s welfare. Failure to do so would be considered illegal and violating employees’ rights in getting the social protection benefits.