Abu Dhabi: The Emirates Group on Friday announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) unemployment insurance scheme is not mandatory for their employees.
Emirates Group subsidiaries include Dubai’s flagship airline Emirates and airport services provider Dnata.
“Voluntary for Emirates Group employees to sign up for unemployment insurance,” Emirates airline spokesperson was quoted by Khaleej Times.
The social security programme called the Involuntary Loss of Employment Insurance scheme, came into force on January 1 and will apply to all Emirati and foreign employees in the public and private sectors.
It is now mandatory for employees working in free zones to register for the unemployment insurance scheme.
The scheme is a financial safety net that pays Emiratis and residents for three months if they lose their jobs.
To receive unemployment benefits, workers must register and pay insurance premiums based on their monthly wages.
The deadline for registration in the unemployment insurance scheme is June 30.
Those who do not register for the unemployment plan on June 30 will face a penalty of Dirhams 400 (Rs 8980).
