UAE: Unemployment Insurance Scheme Launched

January 6, 2023


The government of the United Arab Emirates has implemented a mandatory unemployment insurance scheme for employees working in any private or government sector organization. The scheme is called the Involuntary Loss of Employment (ILOE) and employees can subscribe for it online, or through any other authorized insurance providers. The employees should enroll for the ILOE on or before 30 June 2023. Any new employee who began in their position after 1 January 2023 will have a grace period of four months to enroll from the date of their arrival in UAE or change of visa status.

To be eligible to receive compensation under the insurance scheme, the applicant must complete a minimum of 12 consecutive months in his/her previous job, calculated from the day applicant subscribed to the insurance scheme. Once applicants are eligible, they will receive 60 percent of their basic salary for three months if they lose their job due to reasons beyond their control.

There are few exempted categories of employees mentioned below who are not required to enroll for this scheme:

Exempted Categories

  • Investors (owners of companies they work at)
  • Domestic helpers
  • Temporary-contract workers
  • Juveniles under the age of 18
  • Retirees who are entitled to a pension and joined a new job
  • Employees working in the Free Zones

If employees working in UAE mainland fail to subscribe to the scheme once the deadline has passed, they will face a fine of AED 400 (unless the deadline is extended), and if the employee fail to pay the insurance premium after subscription then a further fine of AED 200 will be imposed.

Below is the list of authorized channels where the employees can enroll to the scheme.

  1. Insurance Pool website – www.iloe.ae
  2. Al Ansari Exchange
  3. Kiosk machines
  4. Telecommunication bill payment channels (through du and etisalat)
  5. Insurance Pool smartphone application – ‘iloe’
  6. Bank ATMs and smartphone applications
  7. Businessmen service centers

 

Immigration Insights

As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to your Newland Chase dedicated contact or submit an inquiry here should you have any specific questions regarding this announcement.

This immigration update is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal or scenario-specific advice. Furthermore, it is important to note that immigration announcements are subject to sudden and unexpected changes. Readers are encouraged to reach out to Newland Chase for any case- or company-specific assessments.