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United Arab Emirates: Zurich Workplace Solutions (ZWS), a subsidiary of Zurich International Life Limited and Scheme Administrator for the break-through DIFC Employee Workplace Solutions (DEWS) Program onboarded 1,100 DIFC based companies into the scheme as at the end of last month.
Key Highlights:
- 1,100 DIFC based companies enrolled into DEWS in accordance with the revised enrolment deadline of 30th April.
- This represents 85% of all eligible DIFC organisations
- Of the 1,100 enroled, 750 have made the gratuity contributions for their employees into the plan, with the remaining due to complete the requirements shortly
- Over 16,000 employees have been onboarded and can now access their DEWS member portal to view and manage their contributions
A progressive end-of-service benefits scheme for expatriate workers, DEWS was introduced within the DIFC to restructure the currently defined employee benefit scheme into a funded, professionally-managed and defined contribution plan that is aligned with international standards. Officially launched on the 1st of February 2020, 1,100 organisations or close to 85% of eligible employers undertook the required measures to enroll into the scheme within the extended deadline of the 30th of April.
The original deadline of 31st March for enrolment and 21st April for contribution was reviewed by DIFC Authority (DIFCA) and the DEWS Supervisory Board in context of COVID-19 developments and its resulting impact on businesses, and an extension was granted to employers. Even with the extension, there was a significant last minute rush for enrolment with over 200 companies enroling in the last week of April, and close to 350 companies missing the contribution deadline.
Under the DIFC Employment Law, eligible employers that fail to comply with the deadline could attract a financial penalty of USD 2,000 per employee per breach.
In the run up to the deadline the support team from Zurich Workplace Solutions (ZWS) has been assisting a number of organisations by explaining the changes to the law, the steps to ensuring compliance and completing the enrolment formalities.
“We have been working closely with organisations and helping them with enrolment and contribution payments. In the last week alone, the ZWS team has responded to over 2,500 calls and live chats, and in excess of 4,000 emails. We have been coordinating closely with the DIFC and the Trustees (Equiom), to help smaller companies who have made significant efforts to comply but have been unable to enroll in time due to factors outside their control. A number of these organisations will complete the remaining formalities in the next few days” says Reena Vivek, Senior Executive Officer of Zurich Workplace Solutions.
For ZWS, the focus now shifts to supporting employers with ongoing monthly contributions, and additionally helping them setup processes to support employees who wish to make voluntary contributions or transfer accrued gratuity into the DEWS plan. Under a recent directive issued by the DIFC, employees have the benefit of End of Service Gratuity Payment Protection if salaries are reduced after 1st March, 2020 and if they choose to transfer any accrued gratuity into the DEWS Plan.
ZWS will also be helping the 16,000 plus employees who are now members of the DEWS plan understand the scheme and its benefits, and assist them with any ongoing support requirements.
“We remain committed to continuing to support the DIFC employer and employee community on their DEWS journey and are dedicated to continuously enhancing the support we provide” says Reena. “In fact, we are currently working on a number of enhancements to our digital platform to improve the user experience and expect this to be available in the near future,” she adds.
© Press Release 2020
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