This article is written by Sharad Yadav, from the Institute of Law, Nirma University. This article gives information that a person should keep in mind while going to work in the UAE.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Many people go to work in other countries to earn more money. In the present article, we will give details right which the employee is having while he/she is working in the UAE. Labour rights are well protected in the UAE and everyone should know their legal rights.UAE labour gives detailed information regarding the various kinds of leave which the employee is entitled to get, when can an employee be terminated, and other such kinds of information.
Disciplinary rules at the workplace
There are certain disciplinary penalties that can be imposed by the employer on the employee. Following these are mentioned below:
- Fine;
- Warning;
- Suspension from service with reducing pay for a period which is not exceeding ten days;
- Deprivation from the periodic bonus;
- Deprivation from promotion;
- Deprivation from work with giving the end of service gratuity; or
- Dismissal from work without giving the end of service gratuity or part thereof.
Fine
A fine can be imposed on the employee with an amount that is equal wages of the worker for a specific period. The fine amount should not exceed the wages of five days of the worker.
Temporary suspension from service
An employee can be suspended from the work temporarily if he is charged with the crime against life, honour, property, or found to be carrying out a strike. This suspension shall commence as soon as the authorities get to know about such incidents. The employee will not be going to be entitled to be paid for such a period. If the decision is issued for non-prosecution or acquittal then the employee shall be reinstated.Â
Time limitation of the penalty
The employee may not be punished for the office after the 30 days of the discovery thereof. Also, there will be no disciplinary sanction that may be imposed after 60 days from the date of finishing the investigation of the offence in which the employee is found guilty.
Outside the workplace
No action will be taken by the employer on the worker for an act that is done outside the workplace. If it is connected with the workplace then he may start the disciplinary action otherwise he can not do so. Also, It is not permissible to impose multiple sanctions with the deduction of any part of the wage of the worker.
Deprivation from promotion
An employee can be put on deprivation of promotion but can not be more than one promotion cycle. The penalised employee shall be then promoted the following promotion cycle should meet the necessary conditions for the promotion.
10 facts about working in the UAE
(1) An employer is not allowed to keep the passport of an employee
Employers from the company are not allowed to take the passport of the employee without the written consent of the employee. Also, an employer cannot terminate the employment from the job for not surrendering the passport.
(2) Entitlement of maternity leave with full wages
A working woman is entitled to maternity leave with full pay for the period which is of 45 days which includes the time before and after delivery. One condition is there that is If a woman’s continuous period for service with the employee is less than a year then maternity leave shall be with half pay.
Also, a working woman shall be entitled to two additional breaks each day for nurturing her child during the eighteen months after the date of delivery. This break will be included in the working hour and there will be no reduction in pay.
(3) A maximum working hour for employees is 8 Hours
The maximum working hours for an adult employee is eight hours per day. This working hour may increase to 9 hours for the employees of hotels, Watchmen, restaurants, commercial establishments as determined by the minister of labour of UAE. It can also be reduced during hazardous work or work which is detrimental to health. During the period of Ramadan normal working hours shall be reduced by two hours.
(4) A grace period of 30 days after expiry of the visa
After the cancellation of a work visa and termination of the employment contract, the employee gets the 30 days grace period from the date of the cancellation of the visa. He can either obtain a new residence permit otherwise leave the country. If the person finds to live without a proper visa permit then He/She will be liable to be fined/deported.
(5) Early termination compensation
If an employer terminates the contract before the expiry period of contact then the employee will be entitled to get early termination compensation of a minimum of three months which will be including the salary and allowance or the remaining amount is a term of the contract is less than 3 months. The same goes with the employee if he terminates the contract then the employer will be entitled to get early termination compensation of half of the three months remuneration including the allowance and salary or half of the salary if the remaining period is less than 3 months.
(6) Entitlement of leave
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Annual leave
An employee is entitled to an annual leave of two days per month if an employee has completed the six months but not the one year as an employee. If the employee is completed one year of service then 30 days leave is permissible per year. If the employee is requested to work on his total annual leave and his leave is not carried forward to the next year then he will be entitled to get the salary.
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Sick leave
An employee is entitled to get sick leave which will be no more than 90 days per year. During the sick leave, the employee will be entitled to receive full pay for the first 15 days, half pay for the next 30 days, and no pay for the rest 45 days. The employee has to notify about the illness within 2 days and the employer has the right to put the employee under a medical examination in order to verify and check the authenticity of the employee’s illness leave.
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Special leave
An employee is entitled to get a special leave for the performance of haj once throughout his service which will be no more than 30 days and for such leave, the employee will not be paid.
(7) Getting benefits after the end of service
An employee is entitled to get the gratuity after the end of service but if the employee resigns before one year then he will not be entitled to any gratuity pay.
Gratuity is calculated on the basis of the last wage which the employee was entitled to and for the calculation of gratuity allowances such as housing, utilities, conveyance, etc. will not be used to calculate. Gratuity will be calculated on the basis of basic salary pay.
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Under limited contract
An employee is served more than 1 year but less than 5 years then he will be entitled to get gratuity pay on the basis of 21 days salary of each year of work.
If he served more than 5 years the gratuity will be on the basis of 30 days salary for each year of work.
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Under unlimited contract
An employee is served more than 1 year but less than 5 years then he will be entitled to get gratuity pay on the basis of 21 days salary of each year of the first five years of work.If an employee has served more than 5 years, he is entitled to 30 days basic salary for each extra year, provided the whole compensation does not exceed two years’ pay.
(8) Entitlement of facilities
If an employee is employed in an area that is remote from the city where there is no access to normal transportation then the employee will be entitled to get the following facilities:
- Transport service
- Accommodation service
- Proper foodstuff
- Drinking water
- Medical aid equipment
- Sports and entertainment amenities
(9) Medical expenses
If an employee suffers a labour accident or occupational disease the employer will be liable to pay the money for treatment until he recovers. These expenses will include admission in the hospital, operation, x-ray, laboratory fess with the expenses of medicine. Also, the employer has to pay the transport expenses arising from the treatment of an employee.
(10) No obligation to buy from a specific shop
An employer can not force an employee to buy food or any other commodities from a specific shop; neither can he force an employer to buy a product that is manufactured by the employer.
Article 102-112
From Article 102-112, there are certain disciplinary rules which are given and need to be followed.
Article 102
There are certain disciplinary penalties are given in this article that may be imposed by the employer or its agent upon its employees.
Article 103
The disciplinary code determines the cases where each of the disciplinary penalties prescribed in the preceding Article may be imposed.Â
Article 104
An employee can be asked to pay a fine for the amount equal to the remuneration for a certain period of time but the fine should not exceed remuneration payable for five days.
Article 105
A special register has to be maintained where all the information related to the penalties imposed should be mentioned. It will contain all the information relating to the reason, the employee’s name, and his salary.
Article 106
Periodic increment of the employee may not be forfeited more than once in a year nor the increment is deferred for more than 6 months.
Article 107
An employee is entitled to get a promotion after one year of forfeited promotion if he is eligible for the promotion.
Article 108
A register has to be maintained where all the difference arising from forfeiture of increment or allowance or delay shall be recorded with the name, amount, and reason thereof.
Article 109
Penalties can not be imposed on employees if any act was done outside the organization which is not related to the work of the organization. It is also not permitted to impose more than one penalty for the same act.
Article 110
Any penalties which are given in article 102 may not be applied to the worker unless and until he is notified in writing of the charge levelled against him and his defence is investigated.
Article 111
No action will be taken against the employee after the lapse of thirty days period nor may a disciplinary penalty be imposed after the lapse of 60 days from the closing of the investigation.
Article 112
An employee can be terminated temporarily from work if he is found with a premeditated crime such as physical assault, robbery, or offences related to the breach of trust.
Conclusion
UAE labour law contains a number of provisions for helping employees from payment to the safety of employees. This law tried almost to cover everything related to the labours so that they will not be deprived of their rights. From maternity leave to restrict a maximum number of working hours, this law tried to give benefits to the employees which will be otherwise deprived by the employer in absence of any specific law.
References
- https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/jobs/disciplinary-rules
- https://www.uaelaborlaw.com/
- https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/11956/69376/F417089305/ARE11956.pdf
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