Does the employer have to cover the cost of an employee’s health insurance?

In Dubai, employers are required to provide health insurance cover for their employees. There is, however, no legal obligation for employers to provide health insurance cover for dependants of their employees, the responsibility lies with the employee (the visa sponsor).

As per Article 5 of the Abu Dhabi Health Insurance Law, Abu Dhabi employers are legally required to provide health insurance cover for their employees and their dependants. Dependants are defined as a spouse and up to 3 children under the age of 18. If the employee has other dependants then they are legally obligated to cover the cost of this themselves.

If you need assistance with staff, family and dependant visas and health insurance any other related company set up, restructuring, local partner or PRO support matter in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, the wider UAE, Oman or Qatar, then please do get in touch with us on +971 (0)4 456 1761 for Dubai or +971 (0)2 448 5120 for Abu Dhabi, email us at SovPPG@SovereignGroup.com or complete the contact form below and we will be delighted to assist you.