News Release
Department of Labor and Employment
11 April 2019
Self-employed SSS members now covered by EC program
Self-employed members of the Social Security System (SSS) are now covered by the benefits and services of the Employees’ Compensation Program (ECP), Labor Secretary and ECC chairperson Silvestre Bello III announced recently.
“We recognize that most self-employed members of the SSS are also workers who need to be protected in time of work-connected sickness, injuries, or death. Since the creation of the ECC in 1975, the EC program has been limited only to workers in the formal economy, so it’s high time to expand the coverage of the program, for after all, they are part of our workforce,” Bello said.
In a report to Bello, ECC Executive Director Stella Banawis said that under the program, a self-employed member of the SSS will receive loss of income benefits, medical benefits, carer’s allowance, and rehabilitation services, in the event of work-related sickness or injuries.
Rehabilitation services under the EC program involve the provision of remedial treatment, entrepreneurial or vocational assessment and training. These services are designed to meet the individual needs of each person with a work-related disability (PWRD) to restore him to suitable employment and develop his mental, vocational, or social potential.
If the worker died because of work-related sickness or injury, the beneficiaries will receive death pension and funeral benefits.
A self-employed worker is one engaged in any trade or business or occupation, who has no employer other than oneself, and derives an income of at least P2,000 a month from his or her physical and mental efforts, and who is not over 60 years of age, during the time of initial coverage.
The following are considered as self-employed individuals who are entitled to avail of the benefits of the EC program;
Self-employed professionals who have their own business offices;
Partners, single proprietors of businesses, and Directors or Trustees of the Board of corporations duly registered with appropriate government agencies;
Actors, directors, scriptwriters, and news correspondents who do not fall within the definition of the term ‘employee’ in Section 8(D) of the SS Law;
Professional athletes, coaches, trainers, jockeys, individual farmers, and fisher folks;
Workers in the informal sector such as market and ambulant vendors, transport workers, and those similarly situated;
Contractual and job order personnel engaged by the government through a Contract of Service and who are not covered under the GSIS Law; and,
Any other self-employed as determined by the Social Security Commission is subject for compulsory coverage, if for initial membership.
As of March 2018, there are about 36.3 million workers registered under the SSS. About 12.4 percent of the registered members of the SSS or 4.5 million are self-employed workers. On the other hand, the 2018 PSA Labor Force Survey indicates that 11.07 million or 26.9 percent of the total working population of the country are self-employed without any paid employee.
To be covered under the EC program, self-employed workers shall register for SSS membership at the nearest SSS branch. Their coverage under the program will start as soon as they pay their first EC contribution.
The amount of contribution that they will pay will depend on the corresponding monthly salary credit of the amount of earnings that they will declare at the time of registration. Self-employed members will pay P10 per month if they have a monthly salary credit (MSC) of P14,500 or below, and P30 per month if they have a MSC of P15,000 and above.
Self-employed members may avail of simultaneous benefits under the EC program and the SSS for the same contingency, provided that they are qualified to get the benefits under each program.
“With this development, the ECP will be able to serve more Filipino workers,” Banawis said. END/ECC
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Self-employed SSS member sakop na ngayon ng EC program
Sakop na ngayon ng mga benepisyo at serbisyo ng Employees’ Compensation Program ang mga self-employed member ng Social Security System (SSS), ayon kay Labor Secretary at ECC chairperson Silvestre Bello III.
“Alam natin na ang karamihan sa mga self-employed member ng SSS ay mga manggagawa na nangangailangan ng proteksiyon sa mga panahon na sila ay nagkasakit, nasaktan, o pumanaw na may koneksiyon sa kanilang pagtatrabaho. Mula ng itatag ang ECC noong 1975, limitado lamang ang EC program sa mga manggagawa sa pormal na ekonomiya, kaya napapanahon na upang palawakin ang sakop ng programa, dahil bahagi din naman sila ng ating workforce,” ani Bello said.
Sa ulat kay Bello, sinabi ni ECC Executive Director Stella Banawis na sa ilalim ng programa, ang self-employed member ng SSS ay makatatanggap ng loss of income benefits, medical benefits, carer’s allowance, at rehabilitation services, kung sila ay magkakasakit o mapipinsala bunga ng kanilang pagtatrabaho.
Kasama sa rehabilitation service sa ilalim ng EC program ang pagbibigay ng remedial treatment, entrepreneurial o vocational assessment at training. Ang mga serbisyong ito ay nilikha upang makatugon sa indibidwal na pangangailangan ng bawat taong may work-related disability (PWRD) para ihanda sila sa naayong trabaho, gayundin ang kanilang mental, vocational, o social potential.
Kung ang manggagawa ay nasawi dahil sa pagkakasakit o aksidente dahil sa kanyang trabaho, makatatanggap ang benepisaryo ng death pension at funeral benefits.
Ang self-employed na manggagawa ay iyong may negosyo o nagtatrabaho na siya rin ang employee, at kumikita ng hindi bababa ng P2,000 kada buwan sa kanyang pagtatrabaho, at hindi hihigit sa 60 taon ang kanyang edad, sa panahon ng kanyang initial coverage.
Ang mga sumusunod ang maituturing na self-employed individual na maaaring makinabang sa mga benepisyo ng EC program;
Self-employed professionals na mayroong sariling business office:
- Partners, single proprietors ng mga negosyo, at Directors o Trustees ng mga Board of corporations na nakarehistro sa naaayong ahensya ng pamahalaan;
- Actor, director, scriptwriter, at news correspondent na hindi saklaw ng depinisyon ng salitang ‘employee’ sa Section 8(D) ng SS Law;
- Professional athlete, coach, trainer, jockeys, mga magsasaka at mangingisda;
- Mga manggagawa sa informal sector tulad ng palengke at ambulant vendor, transport worker, at iba pa
- Contractual at job order na empleyado na namamasukan sa gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng Contract of Service at ang mga hindi saklaw ng GSIS Law; at,
- Sinumang self-employed na kinikilala ng Social Security Commission ay saklaw ng compulsory coverage, at initial membership.
Mula Marso 2018, mayroon ng 36.3 milyong manggagawa ang nakarehistro sa ilalim ng SSS. Nasa 12.4 porsiyento sa mga registradong miyembro ng SSS o 4.5 milyon ay self-employed na manggagawa.
Sa kabilang dako, batay sa 2018 PSA Labor Force Survey , mayroong 11.07 milyon o 26.9 porsiyento ng kabuuang working population ng bansa ay self-employed at walang binabayarang empleyado.
Upang maging kuwalipikado sa EC program, dapat na magparehistro ang mga self-employed na manggagawa sa SSS membership sa pinakamalapit na sangay ng SSS. Saklaw na sila sa ilalim ng programa sa oras na makapagbayad ng unang kontribusyon sa EC.
Ang babayarang kontribusyon ay nababatay sa kanilang monthly salary credit of the amount of earnings na kanila ring idedeklara sa oras na sila ay magparehistro.
Kinakailangang magbayad ang mga Self-employed member ng P10 kada buwan kung mayroon silang monthly salary credit (MSC) na P14,500 o mas mababa, at P30 kada buwan kung mayroon silang MSC ng P15,000 pataas.
Ang mga miyembrong self-employed ay maaaring makatanggap ng mga benepisyo sa ilalim ng EC program at ng SSS kung sila ay kuwalipikado nang makakuha nito sa ilalim ng bawat programa.
“Sa pamamagitan nito, mas maraming Pilipinong manggagawa na ang maseserbisyuhan ng ECP,” wika ni Banawis.
ECC/ GMEA
