UAE job loss insurance: Exemption granted to Emirates Group employees

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It is not mandatory for Emirates Group employees to subscribe to the job loss insurance scheme.

The UAE made it mandatory for the employees working in the private sector, free zones and federal government entities to subscribe to the Involuntary Loss of Employment (ILoE) scheme from January 1, 2023. Those failing to subscribe by June 30 will face a Dh400 penalty. There will be an additional Dh200 penalty for not paying the due payment within 90 days.

An Emirates airline spokesperson confirmed that it is “voluntary for Emirates Group employees to sign up for unemployment insurance”.

Emirates Group subsidiaries include Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates and airport services provider dnata. The group’s number of employees increased by 20.1 per cent, from 85,219 workers, to 102,379 at the end of the 2022-23 financial year as revenge travel helped the group to bounce back strongly.

For the financial year ended on March 31, 2023, the Emirates Group posted a record profit of Dh10.9 billion as compared with a Dh3.8 billion loss last year. The group’s revenue was Dh119.8 billion, an increase of 81 per cent over last year’s results.

Two plans were introduced under the ILOE scheme. In Category A, employees with a basic salary of Dh16,000 or below will have to pay Dh5 plus VAT per month (or Dh60 plus VAT for a year) for monthly compensation of up to Dh10,000 for three months maximum. For Category B, workers earning over Dh16,000 are required to pay Dh10 plus VAT a month (Dh120 plus VAT for a year) for monthly compensation of up to Dh20,000 for a maximum of three months.

The eligible employees will be compensated with a monthly cash benefit of up to 60 per cent of their average basic salaries for six months in case of loss of employment. It is also mandatory that the employee should be a legal resident of the country.

In case of job loss, the employee will be paid compensation every month, rather than one single payment of three months, after 12 months.