New UAE Labor Regulations Set to Reform Employer Practices
[객원 에디터 3기 / 정연우 기자] As the UAE continues to strive for greater globalization, the government has undertaken reforms to open up its domestic market to international businesses and attract foreign talent by raising the living standards for locals and residents alike. Notably, the country has made significant progress in fostering tolerance for different cultures and religions, which is exemplified by its construction of new places of worship for Christians and Jews and the loosening of Ramadan regulations.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the country has effectively introduced new labor laws to ease the circumstances of the working population and combat rising inequalities. A new labor law that took effect on February 2nd, 2022 under the name of Federal Decree Law No. 33 introduced more freedom for employees in regards to work and rest days through a fixed-term contract and working model.
The result is that employees are now able to work remotely and flexibly without being physically present, and can propose and request work days on any day of the week instead of only Friday rest days if a mutual agreement is reached with the employer.
Furthermore, any “actions of harassment, bullying, or … verbal, physical, and psychological violence” towards employees on the grounds of race, color, sex, religion, nationality, disability, and gender are firmly prohibited, strenthening regulations against workplace bullying and sexual harassment. To protect other employers from violators, all employees are required to present their employment records for at least two years after the termination of their last contract.
Most importantly, while the previous system has limited contracts for 2 years and unlimited contracts for long-term employees, the new fix-term system makes all unlimited employment contracts uniform for three years. This means that employers and employees will have to agree upon new wages, allowanges, supplements, the duration of annual leave, modalities of termination, effectively giving employees the ability to negotiate their salary.
Source: UAE Ministry of Finance, UAE Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation, The National Law Review
