New UAE Labour Law 2022

New UAE Labour Law 2022

It’s Cabinet Resolution No.1 of 2022, the biggest revision in the year 2022 about UAE Labour Law. The main and general laws of discussion are Federal Decree 33 of 2021, Federal Decree 47 of 2021, which is for general principles between public and private sectors, and Cabinet Resolution 1 of 2022. All will be implemented from Feb 2022.

UAE brings modifications in UAE Labour Law in 2022, which will be implemented from the second month of 2022, February 2022. The modifications are introduced as the Federal Decree-Law # 33, 2021. It is called the New Decree-Law which claims the modified rules and regulations. Freelancing is made easier where talents are given more opportunities to come and try their luck in UAE which is a life-changer land. Previous pandemics made things quite difficult where it was being quite difficult for the employer to manage the business operations, pay the salaries and retain the employees for full-time work in a month and calendar year.

The flexible work hours, part-time employment and freelancing will allow employers to hire the employees as per need but not by going beyond the law. If they do so then a quick fine from 5K AED to more will be waiting for them. The Lawyers and Legal Consultants might be going to be much busy this way, due to the arrival of new opportunities in the business world in UAE.  

Working Hours as per New UAE Labour Law:

It must be kept in mind that as per UAE Labour Law, the work hours in a day are “8” which becomes “48” in a week. Employer or Employee is not allowed to add the time of travelling in work hours. It means the time which is taken to reach the workplace will not be made part of the work hours. When the workers will be hired as part-time or on flexible work hours then they will be paid for the work they have done. Employers have to make sure that all the terms and conditions must be met before hiring the workers and salaries must be paid through WPS.

The flexible working hours which are a new plan in the new UAE Labour Law Rules, require a mutual consensus, between the employer and employee. Employers can’t impose the requirements or the demands of business on the employee. When an employee will join this mutual understanding then the employer could be considered as a legitimate employment agreement. UAE Labour Law Article 17 and clause 6, can be discussed with Lawyers, in this regard or can be checked with MOHRE to grab the details. Lawyers in this regard are known to be Labor and Employment Advocates.

Terminations and Notice Periods:

If the Employer has to terminate the employee on probation now then he has to give him a 14 Days notice. It’s not like before that employment can be terminated at any time by the employer or employee. Previously the unlimited contract also allowed the employee to terminate the contract. Now a 14 days notice period has been made mandatory which is especially in the favour of employees.

But when an employee has to enter into a new employment contract with a new employer then he has to give a 30 days notice and shift all his designated liabilities. If the employee is leaving the UAE, then 14 days notice will be served but on a probation period only. The notice period for the full-time employees will be 30 Days, 60 Days, or 90 Days, specified in the Employment Agreement and accepted by both parties.

Contact Lawyers:

If you are confused while understanding the New UAE Labour Law, then the best way is to book your legal appointment with any Emirati Lawyer like Advocate and Legal Consultant Mr Mohammad Ebrahim Hassan Al Shaiba. If you are an employer or planning to arrange new recruitments or want to fire the employees then it’s better to seek advice from a lawyer and let him tell you the legal procedure. Though the arbitrary dismissal concept has also been changed it does not mean it has been eradicated. UAE Labour Law still protects the employees so they could not be exploited by the employers or companies.

Non-Competition:

Now any restriction which is also called Non-Competition has to be decided from the beginning. No separate Non-Competition agreements. It was about location, territory, specific competitors or any potential breach of benefits or revenues. If the employee is terminated on probation then it is not valid. It will be only for two years from the time of termination. Employer termination of the employee without a valid reason or notice, may not bound him to follow the non-competition. Few senior designations are not allowed now to claim for the OT. OT(Over Time) Incomes are only for a few categories.

Part-Time Workers and Gratuity:

Another important point is that employees working part-time can enjoy gratuity with a different calculation. It is calculated as the number of total working hours, but first, converted to workdays. Then it is divided over the total number of working days in the year. Then it is multiplied with annual leave entitlements, where 5 Days are counted as a minimum for the annual leave.