NIS CEO Stuart Haynes, says the introduction of an unemployment benefit is a significant policy reform currently under consideration by the National Insurance Service (NIS).
Speaking on WEFM Issue at Hand programme, Haynes confirmed that the ongoing 13th Actuarial Valuation explicitly includes a component to “explore the feasibility of an unemployment benefit”.
Currently, the NIS provides five layers of protection: sickness, injury, disability, death, and retirement. Haynes stated the goal is to “move it to six” by adding unemployment insurance.
The CEO described this addition as a way to “fortify” the shield offered to workers, noting that unemployment coverage is currently “one of the most under-covered contingencies globally”.
Haynes cited regional precedents to support the initiative, noting that neighbouring countries already have similar systems in place: Barbados and the Bahamas currently have unemployment benefits. While Grenada recently introduced this benefit in 2024.
There appears to be high-level political will to move this forward. Haynes mentioned that he discussed the matter during his first briefing with the Prime Minister, who “embraced the whole trust around the unemployment benefit” as a policy direction.