Dubai employers can’t force staff to pay for health insurance

Employers cannot deduct the cost incurred for the mandatory health insurance service from employees’ salaries, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has said.

Employers who resort to such means can face legal consequences, a top DHA official was quoted as saying by Emarat Al Youm.

Dr. Haider Al Yousuf , Director of Health Funding, DHA, explained that according to the new law to be applied in stages starting from early next year, employers have no right to reduce an employee’s salary in return of the health insurance service.

Employers are legally obliged to provide health insurance services for employees, he noted.

However, employees may need to bear the cost of insurance coverage for their immediate family (spouse and children) in the health insurance programme if their employment contract doesn’t specify that the employer will pay for their family’s health insurance cover, Yousuf said.

The insurance company should register the family in the program even if the employer is not paying for it, and the family’s insurance premium in this case should be borne by the employee, he noted.