Unemployment Allowance
Eligibility conditions

• The applicant should have been an Insured Person under the ESI Act on the date of loss of insurable employment on account of retrenchment, closure of the factory / establishment or permanent invalidity arising out of non-employment injury.

  Eligibility conditions
  Disqualification/termination
  Claims & Payments 
  Duration, Rate 
  Medical Care
  Download forms

   

• Contribution in respect of him/ her should have been paid/ payable for a minimum period of five years prior to the loss of employment . The duration of a year in this context, would mean a period of 156 days or more. An IP who has lost employment and in respect of whom the contribution was paid/ payable for 156 days or more in any two consecutive contribution periods in this reckoning will be deemed as having worked for one full year. Similarly, those who have paid contribution for 78 days more in a contribution period will be deemed as having served for a half year.
   
• The period of service of an I.P .need not be continuous with one employer. The I.P. shall be entitled to this allowance irrespective of the fact whether part of his/her service as employer in the same or in any other region.
   
• The I.P. need not satisfy any qualifying conditions afresh for claiming unemployment allowance for any subsequent spells provided to him/her but he/she should be an IP on the subsequent dates of unemployment. The unemployment allowance in the subsequent spells shall be at the same rate as has already been decided /paid.
   
• As specified in section 65 of the Act, an IP shall not be entitled to any other cash benefit and the unemployment Allowance si,u;taneously for the same period. However, he/she may opt for either of the two, i.e., cash benefit or unemployment allowance . The term ‘cash benefit’ excludes periodical payments of PDB under ESI Act and Regulations.
   
• As specified under Section 61 of the ESI Act , an IP who is in receipt of unemployment allowance shall not be entitled to receive any similar benefit admissible under the provisions of any other enactment.
   
• There will be one month waiting period after the retrenchment.