The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) announced that by the end of 2024, 83% of the targeted private sector workforce was covered by the Unemployment Insurance Scheme. This innovative scheme is designed to protect workers against job loss by providing them with monthly cash compensation based on their basic salary as noted in their employment contracts. The compensation is available for up to three months from the date of unemployment until a worker finds a new job.

Dalal Saeed Al Shehhi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Labor Protection at MOHRE, reported that the total unemployment compensation paid out in 2024 reached over Dh114 million. The scheme aims to offer temporary financial support, ensuring social protection and financial stability for employees and their families as they transition to new employment, in accordance with the Federal Decree-Law No. 13 of 2022 on Unemployment Insurance.

Under this scheme, the compensation is set at 60% of the insured salary, with a maximum monthly limit of Dh20,000 for a maximum period of three months.

MOHRE clarified that the scheme covers all employees in the private and federal government sectors, including both UAE nationals and expatriates. However, there are exemptions for certain categories, such as investors working in their own businesses, domestic workers, temporary contract workers, individuals under 18 years, and retirees who have re-entered the workforce

Eligibility for compensation requires that employees have been enrolled in the scheme for at least 12 consecutive months, not been dismissed for disciplinary reasons, and not be employed elsewhere during the compensation period. MOHRE reaffirmed that the scheme allows for negotiations of additional benefits with licensed insurance providers, and compensation does not affect other financial entitlements due to the insured individual.