UAE workers urged to subscribe to unemployment insurance to avoid fines, begin eligibility period

Unemployment insurance is implemented to cover workers who lose their job for up to AED20,000 per month for three months from date of employment, however, to be eligible the employee must have been subscribed to the unemployment insurance scheme for a period of at least 12 months.

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Employees are urged to subscribe prior to the deadline period to be able to begin the 12 moth eligibility.

Over 250,000 subscribed to the insurance in less than two weeks since its implementation.

Unemployment Insurance in UAE

The insurance is divided into two categories, category A costs AED5 per month. It can be paid monthly, quarterly or annually. Category B costs AED10 per month. It can be paid monthly, quarterly or annually.

According to the Insurance Pool website, in order to be eligible for compensation in the UAE, the insured must meet the following criteria:

• There must be a minimum subscription period of 12 consecutive months for the insured in the scheme. Provided that there is no interruption in the subscription for three consecutive months
• The Insured was committed to pay all the insurance premiums due on time
• The Insured proves that the reason of unemployment is not due to resignation
• The Insured may not be dismissed for disciplinary reasons under the Labour Relations Law and the Human Resources Law of the federal government in addition to any applicable legislation
• Submit the claim within 30 days from the date of loss of the work relationship or the settlement of the labour complaint referred to the judiciary
• The Insured worker should not have an existing complaint related to the absence from work.
• The Insured shall not be entitled for compensation if there has been fraud or deceit involved in his claim or if the establishment where they work for is fictitious
• The Loss of Employment should not be the result of non-peaceful labour strikes or stoppages, whether they result in harm or not.