Losing a job in the UAE historically meant losing income overnight — there is no state unemployment benefit for expatriates. Since 1 January 2023, the Involuntary Loss of Employment (ILOE) scheme, created by Federal Decree-Law No. 13 of 2022, fills part of that gap: mandatory insurance costing AED 5 or AED 10 a month that pays 60% of your average basic salary for up to three months after a termination. This guide — part of the wider work guide — covers subscribing, claiming, what to do about a rejection, and the fines. It rests on the rules published by the ILOE Insurance Pool (iloe.ae) and MOHRE, and reflects the position as of August 2026.
At a Glance
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Who must subscribe | Emiratis and residents employed in the federal government and private sectors |
| Category A premium | AED 5/month + 5% VAT (basic salary AED 16,000 or less) |
| Category B premium | AED 10/month + 5% VAT (basic salary above AED 16,000) |
| Qualifying period | 12 consecutive months of paid-up subscription |
| Claim deadline | Within 30 days of the employment relationship ending |
| Compensation | 60% of average basic salary over the last 6 months |
| Monthly cap | AED 10,000 (Category A) / AED 20,000 (Category B) |
| Duration per claim | Up to 3 consecutive months |
| Lifetime ceiling | 12 monthly benefits in total, across all claims |
| Fine for not subscribing | AED 400 |
| Fine for premiums unpaid over 3 months (90 days) | AED 200, plus cancellation of the certificate |
Who Must Subscribe — and Who Is Exempt
Covered workers
The scheme is mandatory for Emiratis and residents working in the UAE's federal government sector and private sector, per the ILOE Insurance Pool. Free-zone workers were brought into the scheme from 3 May 2023 (EY's tax alert records the extension, via the portal's "Non-Registered in MOHRE" route) and most free zones now expect the certificate, though MOHRE has itself described free-zone participation as optional and the DIFC and ADGM — the two financial free zones with their own employment laws — confirm it is not mandatory for their staff, so check your own free zone's rule. Crucially, the obligation sits on the employee, not the employer. Some companies pay the premium on staff's behalf as a perk, but if nobody pays, the fine lands on you. If you are starting a new role, checking ILOE status belongs on the same checklist as verifying the job offer and reading the contract.
The exempt categories
Per iloe.ae, five groups are outside the scheme and cannot be fined for not subscribing:
| Exempt group | Why |
|---|---|
| Investors and owners working in their own company | They control the employment relationship |
| Domestic workers | Employed under the separate domestic labour law |
| Temporary-contract workers | Contract type is outside the scheme's scope |
| Juveniles under 18 | Below the scheme's age threshold |
| Retirees who draw a pension and have joined a new job | Already covered by pension income |
Everyone else on a standard MOHRE or free-zone employment contract is in scope — the Decree-Law's exclusion list is exhaustive, and neither probationers nor part-timers on regular work permits appear on it.
Deadlines for new joiners
New employees must subscribe within four months of their work permit being issued — a rule MOHRE applies to work permits issued from 1 October 2023; miss the window and the AED 400 fine applies. The subscription is personal — tied to your Emirates ID, not your employer — so changing jobs does not require a new policy and does not reset your qualifying period, as long as premiums stay paid. Do update your salary details on a job change if your new basic salary crosses the AED 16,000 line — your category and compensation cap change with it.
Premiums: Category A and Category B
The scheme prices on basic salary — the contractual base figure, excluding housing, transport and other allowances, and the first line of the breakdown explained in reading UAE payslips.
| Category | Basic salary | Premium | Annual cost | Monthly compensation cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | AED 16,000 or less | AED 5/month + VAT | AED 60 + 5% VAT (AED 63) | AED 10,000 |
| B | Above AED 16,000 | AED 10/month + VAT | AED 120 + 5% VAT (AED 126) | AED 20,000 |
Premiums attract 5% VAT and can be paid monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually, per the ILOE policy terms; Cabinet Resolution No. 97 of 2022 sets a minimum 12-month policy term, and the portal sells one- and two-year plans. Paying annually is the practical choice — instalment plans are where most people accidentally lapse, and a lapse costs far more than it saves.
The two fines
| Offence | Fine | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Not subscribing (including new joiners past the 4-month window, and not renewing an expired policy) | AED 400 | Fine recorded against your labour file |
| Premiums unpaid for more than three months (90 days) from the due date | AED 200 | Certificate cancelled — and a subscription gap of more than three consecutive months restarts the 12-month qualifying clock |
Cabinet Resolution No. 97 of 2022 provides for unpaid fines to be deducted through the Wages Protection System or from end-of-service entitlements, and MOHRE has warned that the administrative measures for non-payment include being denied a new work permit. Check and pay fines only through the MOHRE app or mohre.gov.ae.
How to Subscribe and Renew
Official channels
The pool's own channels are the ILOE portal (iloe.ae) and the ILOE mobile app. Other channels in the pool's materials are official but partner-run and may add a service charge: exchange houses such as Al Ansari, Tawjeeh and Tasheel centres, du and Etisalat (SMS or telecom bill), banking apps, and UPAY/C3Pay kiosks and ATMs. The ILOE call centre answers on 600 599 555.
Step 1 — Go to iloe.ae and choose Subscribe/Renew, or open the ILOE app.
Step 2 — Enter your Emirates ID number and UAE mobile number, and verify with the OTP.
Step 3 — Confirm your category (A or B, by basic salary) and pick a payment plan — annual settlement avoids the lapse risk of instalments.
Step 4 — Pay by card and download the certificate of insurance. Keep the PDF; it states your policy expiry date.
Renewal — check your own expiry date
Renewal uses the same channels and takes the same few minutes; failing to renew an expired policy attracts the same AED 400 non-subscription fine under Cabinet Resolution No. 97 of 2022, as MOHRE guidance reported by Khaleej Times confirms. Because policies run one or two years from whenever you bought or last renewed yours, expiry dates are staggered across the workforce — check the date on your own certificate or at iloe.ae rather than relying on anyone else's schedule.
A lapse is a cancellation, not a pause. Per the policy terms, a certificate with any payment overdue by more than 90 days is cancelled, premiums already paid are not refunded, and the gap counts as an interruption of subscription; iloe.ae confirms you must then re-subscribe on a new policy and rebuild the 12-consecutive-month qualifying clock from zero — the real cost of a missed instalment, well beyond the AED 200 fine.
Claiming Compensation After Job Loss
Eligibility first
Three conditions must all hold, per the ILOE Pool and the federal scheme rules: at least 12 consecutive months of paid-up subscription; the job was lost involuntarily — not by resignation or disciplinary dismissal; and the claim is filed within 30 days of the employment relationship ending. Missing the 30-day window forfeits that claim.
The claim walkthrough
Step 1 — Confirm what MOHRE's records say about your exit before you file. The pool decides claims on the cancellation reason your employer submitted to MOHRE, not on your termination letter — the single most common cause of avoidable rejections. Your employer's PRO can confirm what was filed; if it wrongly says "resignation", get it corrected before the 30 days run out.
Step 2 — File the claim through the ILOE portal, the ILOE app, or the call centre on 600 599 555. You will need your Emirates ID and the IBAN of a UAE bank account (or an exchange-house payout option). The policy terms require two attachments: the dismissal document showing the date and reason for unemployment, and — where a labour case is running — an undertaking to provide the final judgment. The insurer may request further documents, in agreement with MOHRE, where the claim data is disputed. Claimants report being asked for an attested employment contract (electronically signed free-zone contracts may need attestation by the free-zone authority first), six months of bank statements showing salary credits — a salary paid in cash is hard to evidence — and an entry/exit movement report from GDRFA (Dubai-issued visas) or ICP (other emirates), a paid report worth requesting early.
Step 3 — The insurer reviews the claim and responds; the pool must pay eligible claims no later than two weeks from receiving a claim with compliant documents, per the ILOE policy terms. Straightforward claims often move faster — recent claimants report approval within about three working days and the first payment a day or two after that.
Step 4 — Compensation then arrives monthly for up to three months. Payments stop early the moment you start a new job, per Federal Decree-Law No. 13 of 2022, or leave the country, per the scheme rules reported by Gulf News — the policy terms require the insured to remain legally resident in the UAE, so the benefit supports an in-country job hunt, not a move home.
Step 5 — Keep the subscription alive after the claim. The scheme carries a lifetime ceiling of 12 monthly benefits across all claims, per iloe.ae — a three-month payout uses a quarter of it.
How much you receive
Compensation is 60% of your average basic salary over the six months before unemployment, capped at AED 10,000 a month for Category A and AED 20,000 for Category B. Worked example: a basic salary of AED 8,000 pays AED 4,800 a month for up to three months. Note what the percentage applies to — basic salary, not total package: an AED 15,000 package with an AED 7,500 basic yields AED 4,500 a month. ILOE also stacks with, rather than replaces, your end-of-service gratuity, which the employer owes regardless of the insurance.
Why Claims Get Rejected
The mechanism is worth understanding: the pool reads the cancellation reason recorded in MOHRE's system, and Khaleej Times has documented claims failing because the employer told the employee "termination" while filing "resignation" with the ministry. Side letters and verbal agreements do not override the official record.
| Exit scenario | ILOE outcome |
|---|---|
| Termination by employer (redundancy, restructuring, cost-cutting) | Covered — the core insured event |
| Resignation | Rejected — the loss is voluntary |
| "Mutual agreement" filed as resignation at MOHRE | Rejected — the system reads it as resignation, whatever the exit letter says |
| Disciplinary dismissal under Article 44 of the Labour Law | Rejected — expressly excluded from cover |
| Absconding report against the worker | Rejected — the pool's policy terms bar claims while an absconding complaint is active |
| Fixed-term contract not renewed | Follows the MOHRE cancellation record — employer-initiated non-renewal is generally processed as termination, but there is no published ILOE rule; check what was filed before claiming |
| Fewer than 12 consecutive paid months, or a lapsed/cancelled certificate | Rejected — the qualifying period is not met |
| Claim filed more than 30 days after the last working day | Rejected — window missed |
| Fraudulent claim or fictitious establishment | Rejected, with the certificate at risk |
The practical defences: keep premiums paid so the 12-month chain never breaks; insist during any exit negotiation that the MOHRE cancellation is filed as employer-initiated termination where that is the truth; and file early in the 30-day window so a records problem can still be fixed. Be alert to the exit-meeting offer to "resign gracefully and keep your record clean": agreeing to resign in place of a termination forfeits ILOE compensation entirely, along with other termination rights — weigh that trade with termination and resignation before signing anything. If you believe a dismissal was wrongly labelled disciplinary, that is a labour dispute — see your labour law rights for the MOHRE complaint route.
If your claim has been rejected
A rejection is not necessarily final. Start by getting the exact rejection reason from Dubai Insurance, the pool's administrator — through the claims portal, on 600 599 555, or at ILOEHELP@iloe.ae. If the cause is a wrong cancellation reason in MOHRE's system, MOHRE's guidance reported by Gulf News is to reopen the rejected claim on diniloe.ae (Claim → My Claims) and attach the employer's termination letter — while also pressing the employer to correct the MOHRE record itself: claimants report a letter alone does not always suffice and several resubmissions can be needed. If you believe the pool has misapplied its own terms, the policy provides a formal route: a complaint to the insurer, which owes a response within five working days, then escalation to the Central Bank of the UAE — in practice through Sanadak (sanadak.gov.ae), the CBUAE's ombudsman for complaints against licensed insurers, free to use.
Scam Warning: Fake ILOE Fines
ILOE's fines have spawned fraud. UAE authorities, including the Cyber Security Council and Dubai Police, have repeatedly warned about smishing campaigns built on fake government fines, and search results for ILOE are crowded with unofficial "quick pay" lookalike sites imitating MOHRE's own ILOE Quick Pay fine service. The defence is simple: the only official ILOE addresses are iloe.ae and the ILOE app, fines are checked and paid via mohre.gov.ae (the ILOE Quick Pay page sits on eservices.mohre.gov.ae) or the MOHRE app — never via a link in an SMS or WhatsApp message — and the real amounts are the AED 5/10 premiums and the AED 400/200 fines. When in doubt, call 600 599 555, and report fraudulent messages through Dubai Police's eCrime platform or your emirate's police app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ILOE insurance mandatory in the UAE?
Yes — for Emiratis and residents in the federal government and private sectors. Free-zone workers can subscribe and most free zones expect it, though MOHRE has described free-zone participation as optional and the DIFC and ADGM financial free zones confirm it is not mandatory for their staff. Exempt per iloe.ae: investors working in their own company, domestic workers, temporary-contract workers, juveniles under 18, and pension-drawing retirees in new employment. Everyone else faces an AED 400 fine for not subscribing.
How much does ILOE cost per month?
AED 5 a month plus 5% VAT if your basic salary is AED 16,000 or less (Category A), and AED 10 a month plus VAT if it is above AED 16,000 (Category B) — AED 63 or AED 126 a year in total. Premiums can be paid monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually; policies run one or two years.
How much does ILOE pay if I lose my job?
60% of your average basic salary over the six months before unemployment, monthly, for up to three consecutive months per claim — capped at AED 10,000 a month for Category A and AED 20,000 for Category B. Payments stop early if you start a new job, and the scheme has a lifetime ceiling of 12 monthly benefits across all claims.
Can I claim ILOE if I resign?
No. Resignation is a voluntary loss of employment and is excluded, as is dismissal for disciplinary reasons under Article 44 of the Labour Law. The pool decides based on the cancellation reason your employer filed with MOHRE — if a "mutual" exit was filed as resignation, the claim fails regardless of what your termination letter says.
My claim was rejected because MOHRE's record says resignation — what can I do?
Get the exact rejection reason from Dubai Insurance, the pool administrator (600 599 555 or ILOEHELP@iloe.ae). If the MOHRE cancellation reason is wrong, MOHRE's guidance is to reopen the rejected claim on diniloe.ae and attach the employer's termination letter — while pushing the employer to correct the MOHRE record itself, since the pool decides on what the system says. Beyond that, the policy terms give the insurer five working days to answer a formal complaint, after which you can escalate free of charge to Sanadak, the Central Bank's ombudsman for insurance complaints.
How long do I need to be subscribed before I can claim?
Twelve consecutive months with premiums paid. The subscription follows your Emirates ID, so changing employers does not reset the clock — but a gap of more than three consecutive months (what a certificate cancelled for non-payment produces) does: after re-subscribing you must build a fresh 12 consecutive months.
What is the deadline to submit an ILOE claim?
Thirty days from the date the employment relationship ends. File through iloe.ae, the ILOE app, or the call centre on 600 599 555. Eligible claims are paid within two weeks of the pool receiving a claim with compliant documents, into a UAE bank account or through an exchange house.
Do ILOE payments continue if I leave the UAE?
No. Under the scheme rules, compensation stops once you find a new job or leave the country, even if the three-month payout period is unfinished, and the policy's eligibility conditions require the insured to be legally resident in the UAE. Claimants who exit mid-benefit report the remaining instalments being forfeited rather than paid out later — the entry/exit movement report the insurer sometimes requests exists to check exactly this.
What is the fine for not having ILOE insurance?
AED 400 for failing to subscribe — including new employees who miss the four-month window after their work permit is issued, and subscribers who let an expired policy go unrenewed. A separate AED 200 fine applies when premiums stay unpaid for more than 90 days, with the certificate cancelled on top. Unpaid fines can be recovered through the Wages Protection System or end-of-service pay.
When do I need to renew my ILOE policy?
On the expiry date shown on your certificate — log into iloe.ae to check it, since policies run one or two years from your own subscription or renewal date. A lapse risks the AED 400 fine, and a gap of more than three consecutive months breaks the 12-consecutive-month chain your claim eligibility depends on.
