Monthly process of DIFC Employee Workplace Savings Plan (DEWS)

Dubai International Financial Centre, a special economic zone in Dubai, has introduced a workplace savings scheme, that has replaced the existing end-of-service gratuity benefits. The new plan, titled DEWS (DIFC Employee Workplace Savings), requires employers to make compulsory monthly contributions to a savings plan that commenced on February 1, 2020.

This article is to provide knowledge about the DEWS monthly process and how to upload the DEWS file to the portal.

DIFC Employee Workplace Savings Plan (DEWS)

The DEWS Plan or perhaps another qualifying plan will require all DIFC employers to register as participating employers. A qualifying plan must comply with the qualifying plan standards that will be outlined in the Regulations to the Employment Law and obtain a Certificate of Compliance from the DIFC Authority. Only expatriate employees are qualified for this savings scheme. Individuals who are nationals of the UAE or the GCC and who are collecting social security benefits apart from those covered by the Employment Law. Benefits are exempted from DEWS

Contributions from Employer

For employees under five years of service, the contribution rate is 5.83% of basic salary, while for those who have more than five years of service; it is 8.33% of basic salary.

Contributions from Employees

For DEWS, there is no required employee contribution. Employees can decide to contribute a fixed percentage of their wages to the DEWS plan on a voluntary basis.

Monthly Process

What is a DEWS upload file?

The DEWS upload file is the template given by DEWS in which companies populate the employee data, Visa details, basic salary details, and contribution amount of employees. A separate line is required for each employee who is part of the monthly payroll. The DEWS upload file also communicates information about new hires and leavers.

How to prepare monthly DEWS contribution upload file?

Companies to use the specific csv template provided by DEWS for monthly upload. Please see the below information which is required to be presented in DEWS upload file.

Col.No	Fields In Upload File Template	Field Description
1	Employer Id	Unique Company ID provided DEWS
2	Member Type	Indicate whether an employee is a ‘Mandatory’ enrollee or a ‘Discretionary’ enrollee into the DEWS Plan
3	Contribution Due Date	Date Between start and end date of the month
4	Title	Title of the employee.
5	First Name	Legal First Name (Passport)
6	Middle Name	Legal Middle Name (Passport)
7	Surname	Legal Surname (Passport)
8	Employee Id	Company Employee ID
9	Birth Date	Date of Birth
10	Gender	Gender
11	National ID Number 1	Passport Number of Employee
12	National ID Number 2	Emirates ID number of the employee
13	Address 1	First line of the employee’s address
14	Address 2	Second line of the employee’s address
15	Address 3	Third line of the employee’s address
16	City	City of the employee’s address
17	Country of Residence	Country of the employee’s address
18	Nationality	Employee Nationality
19	Email Address	Office Email Address
20	Secondary Email Address	Personal Email Address
21	Phone Number	Employee Phone Number
22	Visa Number	DIFC Visa Number starting with 201
23	Employment Start Date	Employee Start Date with Company
24	Exit Date	Employee’s service end date, only be completed if the employee has left service
25	Exit Reason Code	Exit Reason Code
26	USD Salary	Basic Salary in USD
27	Employer Contribution Amount	Monthly Employer Contribution Amount
28	Employee Contribution Amount	Monthly Employee Contribution Amount (Optional)
29	Previous Accrued	Previous Accrued Gratuity status
30	Employer Contribution Percent	Employer Contribution Percentage
31	Employee Contribution Percent	Employee Contribution Percentage
32	Payroll Name	Optional fields, update “Default” here

 

How to upload DEWS file into the portal?

Steps

• Step 1: Login to the portal with user credentials
• Step 2: Click the “contributions and payroll” option in the menu.
  
• Step 3: Click “upload your employees and contributions option”.
  
• Step 4: Drag and drop ‘CSV’ file and complete the process.
  
• Step 5: Ensure the file is loaded successfully in the DEWS portal about the successful upload,
  

How to make monthly payments to DEWS?

Steps

• Step 1: Transfer the total contribution to the bank account designated by the DEWS.
• Step 2: DEWS distributes the complete contribution to the employee’s account upon receipt of the contribution.

The currency of DEWS is the US dollar; USD or AED can be used to make contributions. If the money is sent in AED, a regular conversion rate of USD 1: AED 3.675 will be applied.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What will be the mandatory employer contribution?

   Service period less than five years – 5.83% of Basic Salary

   Service period of five years and above – 8.33% of Basic Salary

2. Can employees make voluntary contributions to DEWS?

   Yes, employees can choose to pay a regular amount or through salary deduction as voluntary contributions.

3. How and when will benefits be paid?

   The payment will be made directly to the employee’s nominated bank account when the employee leaves their DIFC employer.

4. Can employees draw an amount from DEWS during employment?
   

   No, employees are only able to withdraw when they are leaving the service, and if you add extra savings voluntarily, then through the online withdrawal feature, employees can request up to 2 partial withdrawals per year, up to 30% of the employee voluntary savings pot value.

5. Should employers provide payments for workers who are on probation?

   If an employee is on probation, the employer is not required to pay the contribution amount. The employer is required to make the back payment from the commencement date following the successful completion of the probationary term.

6. How is the contribution determined while there is a month-long unpaid leave deduction?

   After reducing any unpaid leave, the employee’s monthly basic wage for the relevant month must be used to determine the DEWS contribution amount.

7. Do employers need to pay any fees as processing charges?

   Employers will not be charged a processing fee. However, an all-inclusive charge that ranges between 1.26% and 1.33% based on the selected fund, will be applicable.

8. Is there any specific date for submitting the contribution?
   

   Date for submitting your monthly contribution: the 21st of the following month.

9. What type of currency will the DEWS scheme use?

   The currency of DEWS is the US dollar; USD or AED can be used to make contributions. If the money is sent in AED, a regular conversion rate of USD 1: AED 3.675 will be employed.

   For more details about DEWS Plan follow the link.

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