Most guides to ILOE insurance stop at the price, which is the easy part. The costly mistakes happen elsewhere: a fine that holds up your next work permit, or a claim refused after a year of premiums because it went in on day 31. Both are settled by the scheme’s own policy terms, a six-page document few people open. We read it, together with the law behind it and the official claims guide.
The short answer
ILOE, the Involuntary Loss of Employment scheme, has been compulsory for private sector and federal government employees since 1 January 2023. The premium is the employee’s to pay: AED 5 a month if your basic salary is AED 16,000 or less, AED 10 above that, plus VAT.
If you lose your job for any reason other than resignation or disciplinary dismissal, after 12 consecutive months of cover, it pays 60% of your average basic salary for up to three months, capped at AED 10,000 or AED 20,000 a month.
Two rules cost people money: the claim must go in within 30 days of the job ending, and missed payments bring fines that can hold up your next work permit.
Who has to subscribe, and who is left out
ILOE was created by Federal Decree-Law No. 13 of 2022 and has been compulsory since 1 January 2023 for employees in the private sector and the federal government. It is run by an insurance pool managed by Dubai Insurance. It is also separate from the health cover your employer has to provide in Dubai, which our guide to compulsory insurance explains.
Article 3 of the law leaves five groups out entirely. Outside those five, the one open question is free zones.
- Private sector employees
- Federal government employees
- Staff paid on commission, who pick their own category when the contract sets no basic salary
- Investors who own the whole business and run it themselves
- Domestic workers
- Workers on temporary contracts
- Anyone under 18
- Retirees receiving a pension who have joined a new employer
Free zone and semi-government employees have been able to join since May 2023, through a “Non-Registered in MoHRE” option on the ILOE portal, Khaleej Times reported at the time. Whether they must join has never been stated as cleanly. EY’s tax alert of 31 May 2023 described enrolment as mandatory for free zone workers, except in the DIFC. In October 2023, a ministry official quoted by The National said free zone, semi-government and local government employees have the option to register.
Our reading: in the DIFC it is not required. In any other free zone, a two-year Category A policy costs AED 126 with VAT, less than a third of the AED 400 fine, and it buys you real cover. We would subscribe.
What it costs, and which category you are in
One number decides your category: your basic salary. The policy terms work from basic salary alone, so housing and transport allowances count for nothing, first when your premium is set and again when a claim is calculated.
| Category | Basic salary | Premium | Benefit ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | AED 16,000 or less | AED 5 a month plus VAT | AED 10,000 a month |
| B | Above AED 16,000 | AED 10 a month plus VAT | AED 20,000 a month |
A policy runs for one or two years. The policy terms allow the premium to be paid monthly, quarterly, every six months or yearly, and The National described the same options in June 2025. Renewal is the exception: Gulf News reported in February 2025 that the only renewal option is now two years, and The National says renewing subscribers are offered a single two-year payment. The full VAT is added to your first payment.
That puts a two-year renewal at AED 126 in Category A and AED 252 in Category B, VAT included. Paying on the ILOE website or app costs nothing extra. Exchange houses, government service centres, payment kiosks and telecom bill payment also accept it, with a service charge added.
What it pays, worked through
The benefit is 60% of your average basic salary over the six months before the job ended, paid monthly for up to three months per claim and capped by category. Over your whole working life in the UAE, the total is capped at 12 months of benefit, however many claims that takes.
| Basic salary | Category | Paid a month | Maximum per claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| AED 6,000 | A | AED 3,600 | AED 10,800 |
| AED 12,000 | A | AED 7,200 | AED 21,600 |
| AED 16,000 | A | AED 9,600 | AED 28,800 |
| AED 25,000 | B | AED 15,000 | AED 45,000 |
| AED 40,000 | B | AED 20,000 (capped) | AED 60,000 |
The table shows what the brochures leave out. The Category A ceiling almost never applies, because 60% of AED 16,000 is AED 9,600. The Category B ceiling starts to bite at a basic salary of about AED 33,300. And three months is a maximum, not a promise: payments stop as soon as another employer hires you. If you are already looking, here is who is hiring and what they pay.
Once a claim arrives with documents that meet the conditions, the policy terms give the insurer two weeks to transfer the money to the account you choose.
How to claim, step by step
You file the claim yourself, through the ILOE claims portal, the ILOE app or the call centre on 600 599 555. This is the sequence set out in the official claims guide.
- Make sure your work permit has been cancelledThe claims guide asks for this before anything else, and the form then shows the cancellation date and reason held on record.
- Log in with your Emirates ID and mobile numberUse the ID number you subscribed with, your date of birth and your UAE mobile number in the 5x-xxxxxxx format, then enter the one-time code sent to that number.
- Open Claim Submission and check your contact detailsIf your email or phone number is out of date, the guide says to call 600 599 555 to change it.
- Confirm the date and reason your job endedIf what the system shows is wrong, add a remark and upload documents that prove it. This is the step where a clear dismissal letter earns its keep.
- Choose how you want to be paidA bank transfer needs your bank name, IBAN, account number and account holder name, and the guide warns that the system does not check the IBAN. An exchange house needs a valid Emirates ID when you collect.
- Submit, then follow it in My ClaimsUpdates go to your registered email and mobile. Questions go to claims@iloe.ae.
- The document ending your employment, with the date and the reason on it
- If you are in a labour case against your employer, an undertaking to send the final court ruling once it is issued
- Your IBAN, copied from a bank statement or app rather than typed from memory
- A valid Emirates ID, if you would rather collect the money at an exchange house
Why claims are turned down
Every condition below comes from the policy terms. Miss one and the claim fails, however long you paid.
| Condition | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| No resignation | The scheme covers an involuntary loss of work only. If you resigned, there is no claim. |
| No disciplinary dismissal | A dismissal on disciplinary grounds is excluded. |
| 12 consecutive months | You need 12 consecutive months of subscription, with no break of more than three consecutive months. |
| Premiums up to date | A payment more than 90 days late cancels the certificate and counts as a break. |
| Claim within 30 days | Counted from the end of the job, or from the settlement of a labour complaint sent to court. |
| No absconding complaint | An open absconding complaint against you blocks the claim. |
| Legal residence | You must be legally resident in the UAE. |
| No fraud | A claim built on false details, or on an employer that turns out to be fictitious, is refused. |
| Not a war-related job loss | Loss of work based on the state’s declaration of war, hostilities or civil unrest is excluded. Our guide to war exclusions covers your other policies. |
The residency condition has a practical edge. If you are leaving the UAE after losing your job, file while you are still legally in the country rather than planning to do it from abroad.
The fines, and what they hold up
There are two. AED 400 if you never subscribed, and AED 200 if a premium is more than 90 days overdue, which also cancels your certificate and breaks your cover. The National confirmed both amounts in June 2025.
The ministry spelled out the enforcement when the fines began in 2023, according to Khaleej Times. An employee with unpaid ILOE fines will not be issued a new work permit until they are paid, and the amount can be deducted from wages through the Wage Protection System or from the end-of-service gratuity.
You can look up fines on the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation website or app. Better still, never earn one: when your certificate arrives, put the renewal date in your calendar with a reminder a month ahead, and pay through the ILOE site or app, where there is no service charge.
Questions we get asked
- Is ILOE mandatory for free zone employees?
- It is not settled. Free zone staff have been able to join since May 2023. EY described enrolment as mandatory for free zone workers outside the DIFC, while a ministry official quoted by The National in October 2023 said it was optional. It is not required in the DIFC. Elsewhere, a two-year Category A policy costs AED 126 including VAT, against an AED 400 fine.
- Can I claim ILOE if I resign?
- No. The scheme pays only after an involuntary loss of work. Resignation and dismissal for disciplinary reasons are both excluded in the policy terms.
- How much will ILOE pay me?
- 60% of your average basic salary over the six months before the job ended, for up to three months per claim. The monthly payment is capped at AED 10,000 in Category A and AED 20,000 in Category B, and the lifetime total is 12 months of benefit.
- Does my employer pay for ILOE?
- The premium is the employee’s responsibility. EY noted in 2023 that employers may pay on an employee’s behalf and recover the cost, so check your contract or ask HR before assuming it is covered.
- What happens if I stop paying?
- A payment more than 90 days late cancels your certificate, breaks your cover and brings an AED 200 fine. Never subscribing carries AED 400. Unpaid fines block a new work permit and can be deducted from wages or gratuity.
- How long does an ILOE claim take to pay?
- The policy terms give the insurer two weeks from receiving a claim with compliant documents to transfer the money. The clock starts only once the documents meet the conditions, so a work permit that is still active or a dismissal reason that does not match the record can hold it up.
- ILOE, official scheme website for premiums, categories, policy period and payment channels, read 11 September 2026
- ILOE policy terms and conditions for eligibility, exclusions, the 30-day and 90-day rules and the two-week payment
- ILOE claims guide for the claim steps and payment methods
- Federal Decree-Law No. 13 of 2022, English translation published by ILOE for Article 3 and the exempt groups
- Khaleej Times for the ministry on work permits and deductions, 11 September 2023
- The National for fines, payment options and renewal, June 2025
- Gulf News for two-year renewals, February 2025
- EY tax alert for free zones, the DIFC and payment by employers, 31 May 2023
- The National for the ministry on optional registration, 4 October 2023
- Khaleej Times for free zone access from May 2023
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