mandatory unemployment insurance, job loss insurance
While the scheme was earlier available to expatriates and Emiratis working full-time in the UAE's federal and private sectors, now Freezone employees and semi-government entities can avail of the insurance scheme, too. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Dubai: If you are a freezone employee or someone working with a semi-government organisation in the UAE, you can now apply for the Involuntary Loss of Employment (ILOE) or Unemployement Insurance Scheme that was introduced in the UAE earlier this year.

While the scheme was earlier available to expatriates and Emiratis working full-time in the UAE's federal and private sectors, on May 3, Dubai Insurance, the company that manages the ILOE Insurance Pool, posted on its official social media accounts that Freezone employees and semi-government entities can now avail of the insurance scheme, too.

However, the steps that you will need to follow are slightly different. Here are the details.

What is the Unemployment Insurance Scheme?

The Unemployment Insurance Scheme (ILOE) allows eligible workers to receive a salary equal to 60 per cent of their basic salary for up to three months in case of job loss.

In its initial announcement when the ILOE scheme was launched, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), also provided certain conditions that need to be met for a worker to be eligible to receive the cash compensation. For a detailed guide on the scheme, click here.

How Freezone, semi-government employees can register for the scheme online

Here are the steps you need to follow if you are registering for the scheme as an employee of a freezone company or a semi-government company:

1. Visit the website www.iloe.ae.
2. Click on the red button titled, ‘Subscribe Here’.
3. You will then be transferred to the ILOE application portal. Next, under the ‘Individual’ category select the ‘non-registered in MOHRE’ option.
4. Next, enter your Emirates ID or UID number (Unified Identification Number) as well as your mobile number and click on ‘Request OTP’ (One-time password).
6. Enter the OTP you receive, after which you will be redirected to your ILOE dashboard, where you can select your ILOE plan, as the scheme allows you to pay the premium on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis.

THE TWO CATEGORIES FOR ENROLLING IN THE SCHEME
Category A:
• Employees who are earning a basic salary of Dh16,000 or less.
• Insurance cost: Dh5 per month (or Dh60 annually)
• Monthly compensation: 60 per cent of your basic salary, up to Dh10,000

Category B:
• Employees earning Dh16,000 and above
• Insurance cost: Dh10 (or Dh120 annually)
• Monthly compensation: 60 per cent of your basic salary, up to Dh20,000

7. Once you have selected your plan, you can then pay for it using your credit or debit card.

To know more about the scheme, how you can claim compensation and other platforms you can use to register, read our detailed guide here.