You would think that a doctor joining a GP clinic wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary, and you’d be right. Unfortunately, for some doctors, the experience has been quite confounding! A handful of doctors who joined smaller chain GP clinics were disappointed to find out that their statutory payments had not been made.
What was even more puzzling is that these doctors’ pay slips indicated that contributions towards EPF and SOCSO had been deducted from their salaries and forwarded to the relevant organizations. In some cases, the monthly income tax deductions (Potongan Cukai Bulanan or PCB) were also indicated on the pay slip. However, upon double-checking with the relevant organizations, such was not the case.
Let’s be clear that this does not involve all GP clinics. For the most part, many GP clinics both large and small are conscientious in their commitment to employees. However, there are some smaller chain GP clinics that tend to engage in such unsavory behavior.
Being Short-Changed at Work
When the affected doctors approached their management, they were informed that the relevant payments will be made in due time. Months passed and while the doctors’ salaries continued to be deducted for such payments, no contributions whatsoever had been forwarded to the organizations concerned.
The doctors’ repeated inquiries continued to be met with the same standard response from the management of these clinics. The general sense among these doctors was that these clinics were unperturbed by their violation of the EPF Act of 1991. Section 43(2) of this Act clearly stipulates that, “Any employer who fails to make contribution on or before the 15th of every month shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or both”.
This begs the question of why these errant clinics continue their underhanded ways despite the seriousness of the offense. According to one doctor, it is because most of the affected doctors are reluctant to file official complaints or take any form of legal action against their employers who are clearly abusing their authority. This is mainly for fear of losing their jobs. There is probably some truth to this.
One such affected doctor however, decided not to stand idly by but took a legal recourse on the matter. His lawyer sent a letter of demand stating a legal claim and demanding restitution on behalf of his client due to the clinic’s breach of contract. Almost immediately, all the money which was owed to the doctor including EPF and SOCSO back payments as well monthly-deducted PCB payments were returned to him.
And while he got the money back, this doctor lost out on the interest EPF would have paid him for that particular year. When EPF contributions are not made, members lose out on the benefits. In the long term, EPF members can withdraw savings from their Account 2 to purchase a home. Other benefits include making withdrawals to pay for the PTPTN loan, Hajj performance, and funding mortgages. But most importantly, the non-payment of EPF implies that members fail to gain the RM6000/ per year tax relief that is rightfully theirs.
Reason for the Short-Change
When questioned by an employee as to why the management wasn’t making the EPF payments on time, a management personnel answered, “We will pay it soon. It’s not like you’ll get to use the money now anyway even if we make payments right away. Be loyal. Allow us to use the money to expand the business and make business investments.”
So then the motive becomes clear as to why some clinics hold back on payments which ought to be made on behalf of employees. Truth be told, there’s no guarantee that these held back payments would eventually find their way to the relevant organizations anyway!
Many of the doctors facing this dilemma involve those who sought employment at private GP clinics after serving in the government sector. The government sector is known to make timely EPF and SOCSO contributions as well as PCB payments. Hence, these doctors had never felt the need to check their pay slips. When they moved to the private clinics, the thought had never occurred to them to check their pay slips and double-check on their EPF and SOCSO contributions.
The fact is, until recently, the career pathway for doctors mostly resided within the government sector. Many young doctors are unaware of the shenanigans that are prone to occur in the private sector. This in no way implies that all GP clinics or private healthcare organizations are given to underhanded tactics. However, there are a few errant ones that give the rest of the practitioners a bad name.
If you are interested in building your own GP clinic, read this article to find out how much does it cost to build a GP clinic.
Check out the GP Clinic Solutions Hub , everything a doctor needs for building and running a GP clinic: services, clinic management software, financing, medications, equipment, articles, workshops, and more.
