Understanding the Impact of DIFC Amendment Law No. 1 of 2024 on Employment Benefits

On 1st March 2024, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) introduced Amendment Law No. 1 of 2024 (Amending Law), which came into effect on 7th March 2024. This significant amendment impacts various aspects of DIFC legislation, particularly the DIFC Employment Law (Law No. 2 of 2019). One of the key provisions of the Amending Law is the amendment to Article 65(3) of the DIFC Employment Law, which introduces "top-up" payments for GCC national employees into Qualifying Schemes like the DEWS Scheme.

The essence of this amendment is to ensure that GCC national employees receive end-of-service benefits comparable to what they would have received under the Employment Law if they were not GCC nationals. This is achieved by mandating DIFC employers to make additional contributions (top-ups) into a Qualifying Scheme if the GPSSA contributions for their GCC national employees are lower than what they would have received as monthly contributions into the relevant scheme under the DIFC Employment Law.

However, it's important to note that this "top-up" requirement is subject to a de minimis monthly threshold of AED 1,000. This means that if the difference in contributions between what would have been paid under the Employment Law and the GPSSA contributions is less than AED 1,000, no top-up payment is required.

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