UAE jobs: Unemployment insurance scheme comes into force

The UAE’s unemployment insurance scheme for staff of federal government and private sector entities has come into force. Those insured against job loss will be compensated with a cash amount for a specified period of time until they find another employment opportunity subject to some terms and conditions.

The compensation will be paid monthly, calculated at 60 per cent of the employee’s subscription salary and subject to a maximum of Dh20,000 per month, for a period of no more than three months from the date of unemployment.

According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre), the scheme applies to all employees, except investors (owners of the establishments in which they work), domestic helpers, part-time employees, juveniles under the age of 18, and retirees who receive a retirement pension and have joined a new job.

To be eligible for compensation, the employee must have been insured for no less than 12 continuous months, calculated from the date of subscription in the insurance system. In addition, the beneficiary shall not have been dismissed from their work for disciplinary reasons. The compensation claim should not be made through fraud or deception. If it is found that the establishment in which the employee works is not real, penalties shall apply.

The compensation shall end once the employee joins another job.

The insured may agree on additional benefits with the service providers – the insurance companies licensed by Central Bank of the UAE. Service providers may include other government entities assigned by the UAE Cabinet to provide unemployment insurance services.

The compensation to which the insured is entitled to under the scheme shall not influence any other entitlements outlined under other legislation in force in the UAE.

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