Some UAE residents can now get 3 months of cash benefits if they lose jobs

Some UAE residents are now eligible to receive monthly cash benefits if they lose their jobs, a top executive has confirmed to Khaleej Times. These are employees who signed up for the mandatory insurance against job loss when it first became available in January 2023.

These employees also have to renew their policy “immediately” to remain financially protected against job loss, she said. “Renewal to the scheme is mandatory to avoid cancellation of certificate of insurance,” said Dana Kansou, manager, Strategic Partnerships, Dubai Insurance — which manages the Involuntary Loss of Employment (ILOE) insurance pool.

Failure to renew policies is punishable with a Dh400 fine.

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Claiming compensation

Among the conditions to claim compensation is that the claimant has to be subscribed to the ILOE scheme for at least 12 months. This means people who signed up in January 2023 become eligible for compensation now, Kansou told Khaleej Times.

To claim compensation, “claimants have to log in via the ILOE website, click on ‘submit a claim’, enter their Emirates ID and valid UAE phone number and proceed with the steps to submit a claim”.

Eligibility criteria

Claimants must prove that they did not resign and that they were not fired over disciplinary reasons. They must submit the claim within 30 days from the date of the termination of the labour relationship.

They can’t claim compensation if they leave the country or get a new job.

While submitting the claim, the employee must submit the dismissal document indicating the date and reason for unemployment.

Monetary benefits

Once the claim is filed, the insurance company has to transfer the compensatory amount to the insured's account within two weeks.

The compensation will be paid from the date a claimant becomes unemployed. This will be done for three months or until they find another job — whichever comes first.

The amount is calculated at the rate of 60 per cent of the average basic salary in the six months before unemployment.

Claim limit

The maximum benefit for any one claim is three months. If an employee exhausts the maximum claim limit, the insurance certificate is considered cancelled.

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They would need to subscribe for another 12 consecutive months before submitting a new claim. This does not apply if the three-month claim limit has not been reached.

Negotiating better terms

When the law was first announced, it said beneficiaries can negotiate better terms for higher premiums. However, this has not been finalised yet. The option is “coming soon”, said Kansou.

As reported by Khaleej Times, residents who have subscribed to the scheme for a year have started receiving reminders to renew their policies.

Eligible employees may renew their insurance the same way they signed up for it — via the ILOE website or other subscription channels like exchange and business centres; telecom partners; kiosks; and banks and ATM machines.

What’s ILOE?

Emiratis and expatriates working in the federal government and private sectors are required to subscribe to the scheme. Exempted categories include investors, domestic helpers, temporary contract workers, juveniles and retirees who are entitled to a pension.

The ultra-low-cost scheme is divided into two categories:

The first covers those with a basic salary of Dh16,000 or below, where the insurance premium is set at Dh5 per month (Dh60 annually). The maximum monthly compensation is set at Dh10,000.

The second covers those with a basic salary exceeding Dh16,000, where the insurance premium is Dh10 per month (Dh120 annually). The monthly compensation for this category is capped at Dh20,000.

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