By 2025, all employers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will have to provide health insurance coverage to all their employees. This mandate applies to both private- and domestic-sector employers.
The move is aimed at ensuring that registered workers are provided this coverage by their employers at the time of issuance of residency permit or renewal of the same, so that they have access to quality healthcare.
The scheme has seen registration by more than 7.2 million workers in the private sector and in the federal government organisations.
This mandate will be strictly enforced starting 1 January, 2025.
The scheme received the nod from the Cabinet of the UAE, to be applicable for not just private-sector workers but also domestic employees and their families who are not covered under any scheme presently. The cost of the coverage will be borne by the employers.
Campaigns to make employers and employees aware of the scheme will be conducted by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) so that the same is properly executed.
More than 98 per cent of the workers in the UAE are covered under the Workers’ Protection Programme, which ensures that workers are not left in the lurch when it comes to pending salaries and other dues in the event of their employers going bankrupt.
A coordinating council will also be set up to work towards making the UAE labour market more stable and competitive. This is the Ministry’s way of looking after the workforce and the rights of its members.
