Employers responsible for providing EOS files within one month of termination: GPSSA

Both public and private employers are responsible for providing the General Pension and Social Security Authority, GPSSA, with end-of-service, EOS, files within one month for their insured employees, Khalifa Al Falasi, Director of Operations Centre of the GPSSA in Dubai, has said.

This responsibility has been established by Article 12 of the Federal Law No. 7 of 1999 on pensions and social security and its amendments. According to this article, employers should provide the GPSSA with the end of service files of the insured workers no later than one month from their termination for settlement of their accounts with the GPSSA.

Al Falasi explained that the GPSSA sought to facilitate this process for employers by creating an online end of service application in 2016. This application was designed to enable employers to upload and send the files of insured employees directly to the GPSSA.

"The GPSSA will process the transaction within 14 working days if all documents and papers needed for processing are submitted. Thus, the insured employee will be able to obtain his/her entitlements directly in the following month (for pensions) or on the weekly disbursement time (for EOS gratuity)," he added.

Once the file has been sent, the GPSSA starts to review it in two to five working days to make sure all requirements are completed, including all documentation. Once the check is complete, the GPSSA will give the employer a notice showing that the file has been accepted and will be completed during the remaining period. However, if the documentation is incomplete, the GPSSA will reject the file and instruct the employer to complete the required documentation.

The online processing of a transaction not only ensures quick completion but also better awareness of the rights of insured employees, Al Falasi said. The insured employee must sign the end of service form and acknowledge that he/she was informed of all the rights and obligations arising from the end-of-service application. Once the file is sent to the GPSSA, the insured employee will be notified via SMS of the process to keep them informed, he said.

However, the GPSSA receives some complaints on delayed EOS transaction completion, said Al Falasi. According to the GPSSA report on the EOS transactions in 2016, the GPSSA responded to the files sent by employers according to their respective conditions, he said.

About 4,528 applications were accepted, 2,854 applications were held for insufficient documentation, and 3,105 were rejected for inadequate documentation. One hundred and twelve applications were cancelled by employers. GPSSA has processed all transactions after receiving the complete documentations by the employers.

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