Losing your job is never easy. In support of that the UAE has announced a new social support programme that will give both citizens and expatriate residents in both the public and private sectors a basic cash payment each month if they are terminated.
The programme will start in January 2023, and will require each resident to pay a minimum of AED 40 and a maximum of AED 100 a year into an insurance company scheme, according to the UAE’s labour minister.
Those that have lost their jobs will then receive 60 per cent of their basic salary each month, or up to AED 20,000.
This will be available for a limited period, though it hasn’t yet been announced how long that period will be.
“In the event they are sacked, they will receive a monthly salary that makes about 60 per cent of the basic salary with a maximum amount of AED 20,000,” said Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
The insurance packages will be offered through existing insurance companies in the country.
“The amounts an employee will have to pay according to the insurance package they choose will be between Dh40 and Dh100 [per year],” said Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
Something similar was introduced exclusively for Emiratis in 2021.
“We will not allow an insurance system with payment amounts that burden employees,” he continues
Investors, domestic workers, those working based on temporary contracts, employees below 18 and retirees are not included in the new policy.
“Monthly support will stop once a new job has been secured and employees can resume their previous insurance packages or upgrade them,” said the minister.
Support stops if the terminated employees finds another job after a certain amount of time, though this time has also been unspecified. Implementation will be revealed once the regulating procedures are issued, the minister said.
The UAE’s new banknotes
After printing those brand new 50 dirham notes last year, the UAE has also recently debuted two brand new banknote coming to a wallet near you. Yep, the 5 and 10 dirham will be getting an overhaul, and you can now finally get a look at them.
The bills will also be the latest tech, made of polymer and enhanced by advanced technical characteristics and security features. That also makes them more sustainable not to mention durable–something the UAE was aiming for.
Other distinctive features of these two banknotes include a transparent window featuring a portrait of the UAE’s late founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and the logo of the UAE nation brand with fluorescent drawings and inscriptions created using advanced intaglio printing techniques.
What’s on the UAE’s new banknotes?
What are the pictures? They’re two of the UAE’s most historic spots.
The image of the “Ajman Fort”, an ancient monument that bears witness to the cultural and historical legacy of the UAE’s forefathers appears in the front centre face of this banknote, while the image of “Dhayah Fort” in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and one of the UAE’s prominent cultural landmarks, appears in the reverse centre of the banknote.
The new ten dirham banknote has kept its green colour, similar to the AED10 banknote currently in circulation. Its front central face features an image of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, a religious, national and cultural iconic landmark, which has become a renowned global destination. The centre reverse side contains an image of the Khorfakkan amphitheatre as one of the unique cultural landmarks in the Emirate of Sharjah.
The ten and five dirham banknotes will enter circulation on Thursday 21 April and Tuesday 26 April 2022 respectively, if you want to be one of the first to get them.
And yes don’t worry, your old bills will work too. Current banknotes of both denominations will remain in circulation along with the new polymer notes, as banknotes whose value are guaranteed by the UAE law.