The UAE government has issued a Federal Decree-Law that amends a similar document on the regulation of labour relations. It is aimed at ensuring the efficiency and competitiveness of the labour market, regulating relations between employers and employees, clearly defining the rights and obligations of the parties and protecting them.
The changes relate to the employment of minors, the rules of Emiratisation and recruitment. Employers who violate the established norms face a fine from AED 100K (USD 27.2K) to AED 1M (USD 272K).
Thus, a fine will be imposed for hiring employees without proper permission or misuse of such permission, hiring or attracting new employees to the Emirates and not providing them with a job, as well as shutdowns or suspending the company's activities, in which the rights of staff are not respected. Employers will bear similar administrative responsibility for the illegal employment of minors.
Criminal liability is provided for fictitious employment, including Emiratisation (i.e. hiring UAE citizens). The amount of the fine is multiplied by the number of employees who were fictitiously employed.
The above issues are regulated by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). Thus, a criminal case on fictitious employment can be initiated only on the initiative of the Minister or his authorized representative. The Ministry also has the right to settle such cases itself before a court verdict is handed down at the request of the employer. At the same time, the employer must pay at least 50% of the fine and return to the government the funds paid to its fictitious employees as state support.
According to changes in labour legislation, in case of disputes and disagreement with the decision of MOHRE, the case is transferred to the Court of First Instance.
The new decree-law became the next step of the UAE to improve the legislative and legal framework. These measures are expected to strengthen the protection of the rights of employers and employees.