ILOE (Involuntary Loss of Employment) insurance is the UAE’s compulsory unemployment insurance. Employees in the private sector and the federal government pay AED 5 a month plus VAT if their basic salary is AED 16,000 or less, or AED 10 if it is higher. If you then lose your job for a reason other than resigning or disciplinary dismissal, after at least 12 months of cover, the scheme pays 60% of your basic salary for up to three months, capped at AED 10,000 or AED 20,000 a month. Not subscribing costs an AED 400 fine, and letting premiums go unpaid for more than three months cancels the policy and costs AED 200.
Below: who has to join, what it costs, what a claim would actually pay you, how to claim and how fines work, all from the law, the Ministerial Decision that implements it and the scheme’s own terms.
The key figures
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Premium, Category A (basic salary AED 16,000 a month or less) | AED 5 a month, plus VAT | Ministerial Decision 604 of 2022, Art. 3; iloe.ae |
| Premium, Category B (basic salary above AED 16,000) | AED 10 a month, plus VAT | Same |
| Benefit | 60% of your average basic salary over the 6 months before you lost your job | Ministerial Decision 604, Art. 7(3); policy terms V.1 |
| Monthly cap | AED 10,000 (Category A), AED 20,000 (Category B) | u.ae; policy terms V.1 |
| How long | Up to 3 months a claim, 12 months in total over your working life in the UAE | Decree-Law 13 of 2022, Art. 6; policy terms V.3 |
| Cover needed before a claim | 12 consecutive months | Decree-Law 13 of 2022, Art. 5 |
| Deadline to claim | 30 days from the end of the job | Ministerial Decision 604, Art. 7(1) |
| Fine for not subscribing | AED 400 | Ministerial Decision 604, Art. 9(1) |
| Fine for premiums unpaid more than 3 months | AED 200, and the policy is cancelled | Ministerial Decision 604, Art. 9(2) |
The VAT rate in the UAE is 5% (UAE Government portal), so Category A works out at AED 5.25 a month, or AED 63 a year, and Category B at AED 10.50 a month, or AED 126 a year. On a policy, the full VAT amount is added to the first payment.
Who has to subscribe
Every employee in the private sector and the federal government sector, Emiratis and residents alike, since 1 January 2023 (Ministerial Decision 604 of 2022, Art. 3). Five groups are exempt (Decree-Law 13 of 2022, Art. 3):
- investors who own and run the business they work in;
- domestic workers;
- employees on temporary contracts;
- under-18s;
- retirees who receive a pension and have taken a new job.
If you start a job, arrive on a work entry permit or change your residence status, you have four months to subscribe before the fine applies (Ministerial Decision 604, Art. 11). In ADGM the scheme is not mandatory, though the ADGM Employment Affairs Office encourages employees to join (EAO FAQs, February 2025, N.1). We found no official DIFC statement either way.
The subscription is the employee’s own responsibility: the law puts the duty and the fines on the worker, not the employer.
What it costs and how to pay
Your category depends on your basic salary, not your total package, so someone on AED 25,000 a month with a basic of AED 14,000 is in Category A. If you are paid on commission and your contract doesn’t set a basic salary, you can choose either category (Art. 3(4)).
You can pay monthly, quarterly, every six months or yearly, on a policy of one or two years (iloe.ae). Subscribing and paying through the ILOE website and the ILOE app is free; other channels charge a service fee. Those other channels include exchange houses (Al Ansari), Tasheel and Tawjeeh business service centres, kiosks and ATMs, some banks’ apps, du and Etisalat (by SMS: “ID”, a space and your Emirates ID number, to 2120) and the BOTIM app (UAE Government portal).
No part of a paid premium is refunded if the policy is cancelled (policy terms, III.4).
What a claim would pay you
The benefit is 60% of your average basic salary over the six months before you lost your job, up to the cap for your category, for up to three months:
| Basic salary a month | Category | Premium a year, with VAT | Benefit a month | Most one claim pays (3 months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AED 4,000 | A | AED 63 | AED 2,400 | AED 7,200 |
| AED 10,000 | A | AED 63 | AED 6,000 | AED 18,000 |
| AED 16,000 | A | AED 63 | AED 9,600 | AED 28,800 |
| AED 20,000 | B | AED 126 | AED 12,000 | AED 36,000 |
| AED 40,000 | B | AED 126 | AED 20,000 (cap) | AED 60,000 |
Our calculation from the rates above. Two things follow from the table. In Category A the AED 10,000 cap almost never matters, because 60% of AED 16,000 is AED 9,600. In Category B the AED 20,000 cap only starts to bite above a basic salary of about AED 33,300. What really decides the payout is your basic salary: allowances such as housing and transport don’t count, which is the same rule that drives your end-of-service gratuity.
The two add up. Someone on a basic salary of AED 10,000 who is let go after three years is owed a gratuity of at least AED 21,000 by the employer, and can claim up to AED 18,000 from ILOE on top.
Payments stop as soon as you start a new job (Decree-Law 13, Art. 5(4)), and you must be in the UAE to receive them. After a claim that used the full three months, you need another 12 consecutive months of cover before you can claim again (policy terms, V.5). Over your whole working life in the UAE, the scheme pays no more than 12 monthly benefits.
Who can claim
You qualify if all of these are true (UAE Government portal; ILOE FAQ):
- you have been subscribed for at least 12 consecutive months and paid the premiums on your chosen schedule;
- you lost your job for a reason other than resignation;
- you were not dismissed for disciplinary reasons;
- you claim within 30 days of the job ending, or of the settlement of a labour complaint taken to court;
- there is no absconding (work absence) complaint against you;
- the claim isn’t fraudulent and the employer isn’t a fictitious company;
- the job loss isn’t due to taking part in a strike or a non-peaceful protest;
- you are legally present in the UAE.
The reason recorded in your work permit cancellation request, dismissal or resignation, is the reference the insurer uses (Ministerial Decision 604, Art. 7(2)). Check it before you sign. If your employer records a resignation when you were let go, the claim will fail on that entry. And if you have a dispute with your employer in court, keep paying the premiums until your work permit is cancelled (Art. 6(3)).
How to claim
- Make sure your work permit has been cancelled: the scheme advises cancelling it before you claim (claim brochure).
- Claim within 30 days through the ILOE website (iloe.ae), the ILOE app or the call centre on 600 599 555.
- Have your Emirates ID number, your unified number or work permit number, a UAE phone number and your date of birth ready. Federal government employees and people not registered with MOHRE also upload documents such as the employment contract, the termination letter, a bank statement and, for expatriates, the residence cancellation.
- The insurer must respond and pay within two weeks of the claim (Art. 7(4)).
The scheme is run by an insurance pool managed by Dubai Insurance, with eight other UAE insurers as members (policy terms).
Fines, and how to check them
Ministerial Decision 604 of 2022, Article 9, sets two fines:
- AED 400 if you haven’t subscribed by the deadline;
- AED 200 if your premiums are unpaid for more than three months after they fall due; the policy is also cancelled, so you have to subscribe again and your 12 months start over.
The English version of the government portal’s ILOE page gives AED 400 for both. That is a mistake on the page: the Decision itself and the portal’s Arabic version both say AED 200 for unpaid premiums.
Unpaid fines don’t go away. If a fine is unpaid three months after it falls due, it can be deducted from your salary through the Wage Protection System or from your end-of-service gratuity (Art. 9(4)), and no new work permit is issued until all fines are paid (Art. 10). You can apply to pay a fine in instalments or to be exempted from it (Art. 9(5)).
Fines are paid to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE): free on its website or app, or at a business service centre, which can charge up to AED 5 (annex to the Decision). To check your ILOE policy itself, log in at iloe.ae or in the ILOE app, choose your sector, enter your Emirates ID and mobile number, request the one-time code and click “View Statement” (ILOE FAQ).
For the other UAE salary rules (visa salary thresholds, the Emirati minimum wage, overtime, leave and gratuity), see UAE salary rules 2026.
Limits of this guide
- The English text of Decree-Law 13 of 2022 published on iloe.ae is marked “not an official translation”. Ministerial Decision 604 is quoted from the Arabic original; the English renderings here are ours.
- MOHRE’s website couldn’t be reached when we checked on 28 October 2026, so its current fine-check pages and Cabinet Resolution 97 of 2022 (the scheme’s implementing resolution) weren’t read. Fines and deadlines come from Ministerial Decision 604, which implements it.
- The rules for part-time workers aren’t set out explicitly in the texts we read: the law doesn’t list them as exempt.
This is general information, not legal or insurance advice. For your own case, ask the ILOE call centre (600 599 555) or MOHRE.
Sources
- Federal Decree-Law No. 13 of 2022 Concerning Unemployment Insurance Scheme, unofficial English translation on iloe.ae (15 September 2022): Articles 1, 3, 5 and 6.
- Ministerial Decision No. 604 of 2022 Regarding the Unemployment Insurance Scheme, Arabic original (30 November 2022): Articles 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11, and the annex.
- UAE Government portal, Insurance against job loss (updated 8 December 2025), and its Arabic version.
- ILOE, home page and FAQ (read 28 October 2026).
- ILOE policy terms and conditions (October 2023): III.1, III.4, V.1 to V.5, VII.3 and the schedule.
- ILOE claim brochure (April 2025).
- ADGM Employment Affairs Office FAQs (February 2025): N.1.
- UAE Government portal, Taxation: VAT at 5%.
More for the UAE: the UAE gratuity calculator and salaries in the UAE, career by career.