Who pays jobless insurance premiums?
I work for a private company and I want to know who is legally responsible for paying premiums under the unemployment insurance scheme — the employer or employee? Secondly, who is responsible for paying the fees of transferring the worker’s salary to the bank?
The unemployment insurance scheme is a form of insurance/ social security that provides some form of financial support to Emiratis and residents working in the government and private sectors in case they lose their jobs. A monthly insurance premium must be paid by the worker, not by the employer, during his employment. Under Article 8 of the Ministerial Resolution No 604 of 2022 Concerning the Unemployment Insurance Scheme (Establishments must encourage and direct their employees to subscribe to the scheme, obtain unemployment insurance policies and pay premiums on a timely manner.)
The employer is responsible to pay the fees for transferring the worker’s salary to the bank because he pays the salary as per Article 22 of the Labour Law 33 of 2021 (“The employer shall pay the salaries or wages to its workers on their due dates in accordance with the regulations approved in the Ministry, as well as the conditions, rules and procedures specified by the Implementing Regulation.”)
The compensation is on a monthly basis at the rate of 60 per cent of the contribution salary
(basic salary) for a period of three months from the date of unemployment, which is the maximum period for compensation for each claim.
The scheme applies to all workers in the private and federal sector except investors, business owners who own and manage their business themselves, domestic workers, employees working on a temporary basis, juveniles under the age of 18 and retirees who receive pension and have joined a new employer.
An insured worker will be ineligible for compensation under the following situations:
If the worker’s service is terminated for disciplinary reasons under the Federal Decree Law No 33 of 2021 Regarding the Regulation of Employment Relationship and its amendments and the Human Resources Law in the federal government, in addition to other legislation.
There has been fraud or deceit involved in the claim for unemployment compensation.
The employing establishment is fictitious.