UAE unemployment insurance: How to claim ILOE, eligibility, process details

The UAE has its program called Involuntary Loss of Employment (ILOE) insurance which is mandatory for every employee to have and finesse cash benefits for supporting and compensating employees who have been laid off. Employees qualify for the offered benefits in case they subscribed to that particular scheme for at least 12 continuous months.

The earnings simply will not be paid in the event the employee cancels his or her residency, departs from the country, or gets a new job. It would be rather discouraging if some of the workers who claim to be in a position to receive ILOE benefits do not know all the measures to be met.

Below is a list of documents that may be required, the steps, and the duration it takes to process them.

Eligibility criteria

1. The subscription period of the citizens to the unemployment insurance scheme shall not be less than twelve (12) months, consecutively, provided that the subscription does not lapse for more than three consecutive months.
2. Insured employee to have made all the subscriptions to the insurance premium on time.
3. An employee has to justify that the cause of unemployment is not resignation in any way. In this case, the letter from the employer and the Mohre work permit cancellation application should say ‘termination’. This one mistake can deny an employee the benefits that come with job loss, and as such they will be locked out of the monthly cash support that the insurance sale delivers.
4. In any case, the employee will be eligible after providing the said termination proof though he/she will not be fired from work for disciplinary action in compliance with the laws on Labour Relations in the Private Sector and Human Resources in the Federal Government.
5. The claim must be submitted within thirty (30) days from the date of the termination of the labor relationship or the settlement of the labor complaint referred to the judiciary or from the acceptance of the offer to settle the case.
6. The Insured worker should not have any records of complaint on matters concerning absence from work (absconding).
7. The Insured shall not be entitled to compensation where there is fraud/ deceit in his/her claim or where the organization/employer company where the Insured works is fake.
8. The loss of employment should not be the result of non-peaceful labor strikes or stoppages, whether they result in harm or not.
9. To claim the insurance, the worker must be legally present in the UAE.
10. The loss of employment should not be the result of one of the following reasons:

• As a result of war, declared or undeclared, riot, insurrection, armed rebellion, revolution, military or usurping force, invasion, act of a foreign enemy, hostilities, civil war, or civil disorder.
• As a result of a discharge of pollutants, a nuclear event, a radioactive, toxic, explosive or other dangerous effect of any explosive nuclear equipment or part of such equipment.
• As a direct or indirect result of biological or chemical pollution resulting from or contributing to terrorism.
• As a result of a direct action by the government of the United Arab Emirates that led to the expropriation or nationalization of the employer’s facility, or the confiscation of his money leading to his insolvency
• As a result of the occurrence of force majeure in accordance with the Civil Transactions Law of the United Arab Emirates No. (5) of 1985.

Submission of claims

To apply for the claim, ensure that your labour contract is cancelled by your employer. You will need both the labour cancellation request document and the cancelled contract document for the process.

1. Fill out the claim form and submit it to ILOE within thirty (30) days from the date of termination.
2. The following documents must attached (in PDF format):

• The dismissal document indicating the date and reason for unemployment.
• An undertaking to provide a copy of the final judicial ruling in the event of a labour lawsuit between the worker and the employer.
• Emirates ID copy
• Certificate of insurance copy
• Work permit cancellation document that was signed by the employee
• Visa cancellation document
• Copy of the employment contract
• IBAN certificate
• Valid UAE mobile number

Any supporting documents that the worker may request in agreement with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization limited to the case of the worker demanding that the data included in the application are improper (cancellation of the work permit, administrative cancellation complaint, complaints of cancellation of the work abscondment complaint, or the labor complaint referred to the judiciary, and the insurer may request the final judicial ruling in labor lawsuits), or any other cases obvious by the Ministry.

3. Dubai Insurance Company, on its own and on behalf of the insurance companies that are members of the Insurance Pool, shall pay within two weeks from the date of getting the claim, provided that the submitted documents comply with the recognized eligibility criteria. The insurer will transfer the claim payment to the account designated by the insured.

The process

After filing a claim, the insurer will process the documents. If everything is in order, the ILOE will request a ‘travel report’ to confirm the worker’s presence in the UAE. The report must be generated before visa cancellation and can be obtained through the Dubai NOW app. After uploading the report, you will receive a notification regarding claim approval or rejection. If approved, the compensation will be transferred to your account within two weeks.

Filing the application

To file a compensation application, workers need to visit the ILOE website. They must click on ‘Submit a Claim,’ enter their Emirates ID details and a valid UAE phone number, and then follow the steps to complete the submission.

Benefits of ILOE

The unemployment insurance has two categories based on the salary.

• For those earning Dh16,000 or less, the insurance premium is Dh5 per month with a maximum compensation of Dh10,000.
• For those earning more than Dh16,000, the premium is Dh10 per month with a maximum compensation of Dh20,000.
• The compensation is paid for a maximum of three months from the date of unemployment for each claim, except for termination due to disciplinary reasons or resignation.