Employees whose visas are sponsored by their spouses or parents but have work permits issued by the MoHRE are required to subscribe to the scheme
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The UAE residents who are exempted from the Involuntary Loss of Employment (ILOE) scheme cannot subscribe to the plan, even if they want to.
As per the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) guidelines, it is mandatory to subscribe to the scheme for employees – both nationals and expatriates – working only in the private sector, the federal government and free zones.
However, investors (who own the establishment where they work), domestic workers, temporary contract workers, juveniles under 18 years of age, and retirees who are earning a retirement pension and have also started a new job are exempted from the subscription to the insurance scheme.
The exempted category also includes temporary contract workers with less than two years of the contract.
The MoHRE last week extended the deadline to register for the mandatory job loss insurance scheme from June 30 to October 1, 2023. Those who fail to register by October 1 will face a Dh400 fine.
“Those who belong to the exempted categories for the Involuntary Loss of Employment (ILoE) scheme cannot subscribe even if they want to. Because the scheme only covers private, federal and semi-government employees,” said Dana Kansou, manager of Distribution and Strategic Partnerships at Dubai Insurance, which manages the ILoE Insurance pool.
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The nominal subscription fee is Dh5 per month (Dh60 per year) for workers earning basic monthly salaries of Dh16,000 or less, and Dh10 per month (Dh120) for workers earning basic salaries of more than Dh16,000. However, workers have the right to subscribe to additional insurance benefits.
The employees will receive cash compensation for three months from the date of job loss, amounting to 60 per cent of their average basic salary in the last six months.
To be eligible for the compensation, the insured must be registered in the scheme for a period of no less than 12 consecutive months and must submit an application requesting compensation within 30 days of leaving work, provided that their employment was not terminated for disciplinary reasons, have not resigned, or the compensation request was not fraudulent. Compensation payments will be suspended from the date the worker joins another job or leaves the country.
Meanwhile, employees whose visas are sponsored by their spouses or parents but have work permits issued by the MoHRE are also required to subscribe to the scheme.
Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.