Following the passing of the Social Security Protection Law on 2 October 2019, the Cambodian Federation of Employers and Business Associations hosted a briefing and discussion on Social Security Protection Law and Pension Scheme for its members.

The Social Security Protection Law consists of 11 Chapters and 107 Articles and its main objective is to ensure income security for workers when they encounter social difficulties including unemployment, work-related accidents, disabilities and death etc.

Under this law, people working under both the public and private sectors are protected including those protected by the Labour Law. These include workers in the air and maritime sectors, domestic workers and the self-employed who are all protected and entitled to pension and other benefits.

Notably, according to Article 21 of the law, pension sources are drawn from the state, employers and National Social Security Fund members as well as from pools of donation and investments as determined under the law.

The discussion covers various topics including best practices and examples from regional and neighboring countries on public pension schemes, the design of the national pension scheme for private sectors and the importance of employers in contributing to the public social security system of Cambodia.

The briefing also involved a high-level assessment on the potential impacts of the new law on business operations in Cambodia and it is expected that the implementation of this law, when passed, would be a challenge across all industries, especially with regards to its application to people who have passed the eligible age for the pension scheme post implementation.

This Law, while already been passed, was promulgated earlier this month on 2 November 2019 and is expected to start its implementation in February 2020.

If you have any questions or require any additional information, please contact Mr. Ol Phirum and Mr. Matthew Rendall of SokSiphana&associates (a member of ZICO Law)