Labour Relations Law — articles 1–74

In application of the provisions of this Decree by law, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings assigned to each of them, unless the context otherwise requires: State: United Arab Emirates. Ministry: Mini…

This Decree by law aims to achieve the following: 1. Ensuring the efficiency of the labour market in the State, which contributes to attracting and maintaining the best competencies and future skills from the workforce, …

1. The provisions of this Decree by law shall apply to all Establishments, Employers and Workers in the Private Sector in the State. 2. The following categories are not subject to the provisions of this Decree by law: a.…

1. Discrimination between persons, on the grounds of race, colour, sex, religion, nationality, social origin, or disability is prohibited, which would weaken equal opportunities or would prejudice equality in obtaining o…

1. It is prohibited to employ any person before he completes fifteen years of age. 2. The following are required to employ a Juvenile: a. A written consent of his guardian or custodian. b. A certificate of health fitness…

1. Work may not be practised in the State, and the Employer may not recruit or employ any Worker, except after obtaining a work permit from the Ministry in accordance with the provisions of this Decree by law and its Exe…

1. The work types to be contracted shall be according to the following: a. Full-time, which is working for one employer for the full daily working hours throughout business days. b. Part-time, which is working for one or…

1. The Employer must conclude an employment contract with the Worker, according to the form of work agreed upon, provided that the contract is in two copies, one of which shall be kept by the Employer and the other shall…

1. The Employer may appoint the Worker under the Probation Period for a period not exceeding six (6) months as of the date of commencing work, and he may terminate the Worker's service during this period after notifying …

1. If the work assigned to the Worker allows him to know the Employer's clients or access his work secrets, the Employer may stipulate in the work contract that the Worker shall not, after the termination of the contract…

The Employer may assign any of his work to another Employer; and in which case, the latter shall be solely responsible for the rights entitled by virtue of the provisions of this Decree by law to his Workers performing s…

1. It is not permissible to assign the Worker a work that is fundamentally different from the work agreed upon in the employment contract, unless necessary, or with the aim of preventing the occurrence of an accident or …

The Employer must: 1. Maintain Workers' files and records in accordance with the conditions, controls and procedures determined by a resolution issued by the Ministry, provided that the period of maintaining the Worker's…

1. The Employer may not use any means that would make or force the Worker or threaten him with any penalty to work for him or force him to perform work or provide a service against his will. 2. Sexual harassment, bullyin…

1. In the event of the Worker's death, the Employer shall hand over to the worker's family any wages or financial entitlements to the Worker in addition to the end-of-service gratuity to which the worker is entitled in a…

The Worker must: 1. To perform the work personally under the direction and supervision of the Employer or his representative, and in accordance with what is specified in the contract, and not to outsource the work to any…

1. The maximum normal working hours for Workers shall be eight (8) hours per day or forty-eight (48) hours per week. 2. The Cabinet may, upon the proposal of the Minister and in coordination with the Concerned Authoritie…

The worker may not work for more than five (5) consecutive hours without a rest period or periods amounting in aggregate to not less than one hour. Working hours and rest periods shall be regulated in the Establishment t…

1. The Employer may require the Worker to work for additional working hours beyond the normal working hours, provided that they do not exceed two hours per day, and he may not be required to work for more than that excep…

The Executive Regulation of this Decree by law shall determine the categories of labourers that may be exempted from the provisions regarding working hours contained in this Decree by law.

The worker shall be granted a paid weekly rest not less than one day, according to what is specified in the employment contract or the work organisational regulation. It is permissible by a Cabinet resolution to increase…

1. The amount or type of wage shall be specified in the employment contract, and if it is not specified therein, the competent court shall determine it as a labour dispute. 2. The Employer is obligated to pay the wages t…

The daily wage of Workers who receive their wages on piece-meal basis is calculated according to the average of what the Worker received for the actual working days during the six (6) months preceding the request or the …

A worker with a monthly wage may be transferred to the category of day workers or workers appointed for a weekly, piece-meal or hourly wage, if the Worker agrees to this in writing, and without prejudice to the rights ac…

1. No amount of money shall be deducted from the Worker's wage except in the following cases: a. Recovering loans granted to the Worker, within the maximum monthly deduction rate from the Worker's wage stipulated in this…

1. The wage shall be in exchange for the work, and the Employer is obligated to enable the Worker to perform his work, otherwise he is obligated to pay his wage agreed upon. 2. The Executive Regulation shall determine th…

The Cabinet may, upon the proposal of the Minister and in coordination with the Concerned Authorities, issue a resolution setting the minimum wage for Workers, or any category of them.

1. The Worker is entitled to an official leave with full pay on the official holidays to be determined by a Cabinet resolution. 2. If circumstances of work necessitate that the Worker works in any of the official holiday…

1. Without prejudice to the Worker's rights acquired for the period preceding the date of enforcement of the provisions of this Decree by law, the Worker shall be entitled to an annual leave with full pay of not less tha…

1. The female Worker shall be entitled to maternity leave of (60) sixty days, according to the following: a. The first forty-five (45) days with full pay. b. The following fifteen (15) days with half pay. 2. The female W…

1. If the Worker suffers an illness that is not caused by a work injury, he must inform the Employer or his representative of his illness, within a period not exceeding three (3) business days and submit a medical report…

1. The Worker is entitled to a paid leave in the following cases: a. A mourning leave of five (5) days, in the event of the death of the spouse; and Three (3) days in the event of the death of the mother, father, son, br…

1. The Worker may, upon the approval of the Employer, obtain leave without pay, other than those referred to in this Decree by law. 2. The leave referred to in this Article shall not be included in the Worker's period of…

The Worker who does not return directly to work without a legitimate reason after the end of his leave shall not be entitled to his wage for the period of absence following the end of the leave.

In the event that either party to the employment contract desires to terminate the contract in accordance with the provisions of this Decree by law and its Executive Regulation, during the period of the Worker's leave, t…

Establishments shall abide by the provisions contained in Federal Law No. (13) of 2020 Concerning Public Health and all resolutions issued in implementation thereof, and any other legislation issued in this regard. The E…

1. A Cabinet resolution shall be issued, upon a proposal by the Minister and in coordination with the Concerned Authorities, to specify work injuries and occupational illness, the conditions and procedures to be followed…

The Worker shall not be entitled to compensation for a work injury, if it is proven through the investigations of the competent authorities that any of the following cases have been achieved: 1. The Worker deliberately i…

1. The Employer or his representative may impose any of the following sanctions on the Worker who violates the provisions of this Decree by law, its Executive Regulation and the resolutions issued in implementation there…

1. The Employer may suspend the Worker temporarily from work for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days, with the aim of conducting a disciplinary investigation with him if the interest of the investigation so requires,…

1. No disciplinary sanction may be imposed on the Worker for an act committed outside the workplace unless it is related to work. 2. It is not permissible to impose more than one disciplinary sanction for a single violat…

The employment contract shall be terminated in any of the following cases: 1. If the parties agree in writing to terminate it. 2. Upon the expiry of the period specified in the contract unless it is extended or renewed i…

1. Either party to the employment contract may terminate the contract for any legitimate reason, provided that the other party is notified in writing, and commits to work within the warning period agreed upon in the cont…

The Employer may dismiss the Worker without warning, after conducting a written investigation with him, and the decision to dismiss shall be in writing and reasoned, and the Employer or his representative shall hand it t…

The Worker may leave work without warning while retaining his rights upon termination of service in any of the following cases: 1. If the Employer breaches his obligations towards the Worker stipulated in the contract, t…

The Employer may not terminate the Worker's service for lack of health fitness, before he has completed the leaves legally entitled to him, and any agreement to the contrary shall be void, even if it has been concluded b…

1. The termination of the Worker's service by the Employer shall be unlawful if the termination of the Worker's service is due to his filing a serious complaint to the Ministry or filing a case against the Employer that …

Employment contracts in force at the time of a change in the form or legal status of the Establishment shall remain effective, and the new Employer shall be responsible for implementing the terms of those contracts, in a…

In the event of the end of the employment contract in accordance with the provisions of this Decree by law, the Worker may move to work for another Employer in accordance with the conditions and procedures specified in t…

1. If the foreign Worker is absent from work, for no legitimate reason, before the end of the contract period, no other work permit shall be granted thereto to join other work in the State in accordance with the provisio…

1. The national Worker is entitled to an end-of-service gratuity upon the end of his service, in accordance with the legislation regulating pensions and social security in force in the State. 2. The foreign full-time Wor…

The Executive Regulation of this Decree by law shall define the mechanism for regulating the end-of-service gratuity for foreign Workers in work types other than full-time, in a manner that enhances the efficiency and at…

The Employer shall pay the Worker, within fourteen (14) days as of the date of the end of the contract, his wages and all other entitlements stipulated in this Decree by law and the resolutions issued in implementation t…

1. If the Employer, Worker or any beneficiary thereof disputes concerning any of the rights entitled to any of them pursuant to the provisions of this Law by Decree, he shall apply to the Ministry that shall examine the …

1. Labour lawsuits shall be exempted from judicial fees at all stages of litigation and execution, as well as the requests submitted by Workers or their heirs of which value does not exceed one hundred thousand (100,000)…

1. If the Employer and all Workers of the Establishment or a group of them have a dispute, and an amicable settlement is not possible, the Employer or Workers must submit a complaint to the Ministry in accordance with th…

1. The Ministry's staff, who are authorised by a decision issued by the Minister of Justice in agreement with the Minister, shall have the capacity of judicial enforcement in proving what is in violation of the provision…

The application of the penalties stipulated in this Decree by law shall not prejudice any severer penalty stipulated by any other law.

A fine not less than (20,000) AED and not exceeding (100,000) AED shall be imposed on any person who: 1. Provides incorrect information or documents with the intention of recruiting a foreigner to the State to work there…

1. A fine not less than on hundred thousand AED (100,000) and not exceeding two million AED (1,000,000) shall be imposed on any person who: a. Employs a Worker with no permit to work for him. b. Recruits or employs a Wor…

A penalty of imprisonment for a period not less than one year and/or a fine not less than two hundred thousand (200,000) AED and not exceeding one million (1,000,000) AED shall be imposed on any person who exploits or mi…

The fine imposed in accordance with the provisions of this Decree by law shall be repeatedly imposed on Employers according to the number of Workers against whom the violation is committed, not exceeding ten million (10,…

A fine not less than five thousand (5,000) AED and not exceeding one million (1,000,000) AED shall be imposed on any person who violates any other provision of this Decree by law, its Executive Regulation and the resolut…

In the event of repetition of any of the violations referred to in this Decree by law and its Executive Regulation and resolutions issued in implementation of it, before the lapse of one year as of the previous judgment …

1. The rights stipulated in this Decree by law represent the minimum rights for Workers, and the provisions thereof shall not prejudice any of the rights granted to the Worker under any other legislation, agreement, ackn…

1. Arabic shall be the language adopted in all records, files, data, forms, and others stipulated in this Decree by law, its Executive Regulation and the resolutions issued in implementation thereof. 2. The Employer is o…

The periods and dates referred to in this Decree by law shall be calculated according to the Gregorian calendar; and in the implementation of this Decree by law, a calendar year shall be deemed as three hundred and sixty…

1. The provisions of this Decree by law shall apply to indefinite-term employment contracts concluded in accordance with the aforementioned Federal Law No. (8) of 1980. 2. Employers must rectify their situation and conve…

The parties to the labour relation may file a grievance against the decisions issued by the Ministry in accordance with the procedures specified in the Executive Regulation of this Decree by law.

For the purposes of this Decree by law, the Cabinet shall: 1. Approve the conditions, controls, and procedures for classifying the Establishments subject to the provisions of this Decree by law, and the privileges offere…

For the purposes of this Decree by law, the Ministry shall: 1. Propose policies, strategies and legislation regarding the following: a. Encouraging and motivating Establishments to invest in training and empowering Worke…

The Cabinet shall - upon the proposal of the Minister - issue the Executive Regulation of this Decree by law.

1. Federal Law No. (8) of 1980 Regulating the Labour Relations shall be redeemed. 2. Any provision that violates or contradicts the provisions of this Decree by law is hereby repealed. 3. The resolutions, systems, and ru…

This Decree by law shall by published in the Official Gazette and shall come into force as of 02 February 2022.