UAE unemployment insurance: Subscribers must be in country to get benefits after job loss

UAE unemployment insurance: Subscribers must be in country to get benefits after job loss

Other conditions include payment of all premiums on time, not being unemployed for disciplinary reasons

Published: Wed 11 Jan 2023, 2:50 PM Last updated: Wed 11 Jan 2023, 3:34 PM

An employee subscribed to the unemployment insurance scheme must be present in the UAE to claim its benefits in the event of job loss, a top official has told Khaleej Times. Under the scheme, employees will receive a cash benefit (60 per cent of the basic salary) for up to three months if they lose their jobs.

“As long as you have lost your job after 12 months of subscription to the scheme and you are staying in the country, whether as a visitor or (as per terms of the) employment contract, you will be entitled to … compensation paid on a monthly basis,” Abdellatif Abuqurah, CEO, Dubai Insurance Company, said in an exclusive interview.

“The three months’ amount is not all paid at once. The payment is made at the end of each month as long as the employee is still in the country and has not got another job,” he added.

Abuqurah was responding to a question about how employees can claim the benefits of the scheme. Depending on their job category, expats