New measures for work permits in UAE, signature of employees for contract renewal and new work permits

The Ministry of Labour has announced new measures to renew work permits, previously known as labour cards, as well as expired contracts, by early next year.

Speaking about the new requirements, Humaid Bin Deemas Al Suwaidi, Assistant Under-Secretary for Labour Affairs, said from the beginning of next year, new decrees will require “clear signature” of employees for contract renewal and the issuing of new work permits, which will put an end to the current work permit renewal procedures which simply follow a notification from employers.

He explained, “Workers, under the new procedures, will enjoy better options of either accepting renewal of the contract according to marked privileges and stipulated requirements in the new contract, or amend these privileges and conditions upon agreement by both parties, which actively contributes to promoting a strong working relationship. It will also enable employees to completely end the relationship, search for alternatives, or return back home.”

“Based on studies, the new decrees will end labour disputes caused by unjust labour contract submissions made by employers without referring to the labourers themselves, and getting final approval before issuing a new work permit,” he said.

Saqr Bin Ghobash Saeed Ghobash, Minister of Labour, said that the three decrees come within the framework of developing legislation to regulate the labour market, confirming that the MoL is moving to a new phase based on establishing and promoting a balanced and productive business relationship between both sides, based on transparency.

The MoL is currently preparing to implement the new decisions on schedule as an effort to ease procedures between employers and workers, particularly in relation to work offers that employees agree upon, whether outside or inside the country, and ensure the highlighting of wages and breaks, as well as other rights and duties.

Al Suwaidi went on to say that the ministry had conducted a study examining the hiring processes in private enterprises, and took into account, through its new decrees, the active measures taken to issue a contract in the preferred language of labourers prior to their signature. This he said, will help “overcome any difficulties that both ends may encounter through several employment channels, including employment agencies or by dispatching company representatives to the targeted country or even through employment websites.”

The new decrees are interrelated and frame the relationship between both sides, starting by enabling the worker to review an offer before travelling abroad then signing the new unified contract with the employer upon entry, from which point a contractual relationship is recorded into the ministry’s database highlighting all rights and obligations as per the contract.

If the worker is in the UAE, the worker must duly sign the employment offer, as stipulated by the decree, before the employer applies for tentative approval to employ the worker.

Terminating employees- New UAE labour law

The UAE intends to enforce a new labour law at the start of 2016 to better regulate the relationship between employers and workers and curb violations to ensure both parties will get their rights.The new law includes three main rules governing labour contracts for workers from abroad, terminating contracts between the employers and workers and the issuance of a new work permit to a resident worker.

“These rules will take the labour market to a new stage based on a strong and balanced relationship between all parties and on agreement and transparency in contracting to guarantee the rights of all parties,” Labour Minister Saqr Gobash said.

The first rule in the law, published by the Dubai-based Arabic language daily ‘Emarat Al Youm’, requires the employer to issue a “clear and detailed” contract for the foreign workers to be brought from abroad, including all duties and rights for the two parties, job terms and other requirements in a language understood by the worker.

The contract must be signed by the worker before it is submitted to the labour ministry for the issuance of a work permit, which must not be altered at any stage.

“The same measures apply to workers who reside in the UAE. In this case, the employer must also get the worker’s signature,” it said.

Contract termination

The second rule, which governs contract termination, includes an agreement by the employer and the worker to end their two-year contract.

Another case includes a decision by the employer to terminate the contract before it expires.
In this case, the employer must give at least one month notice to the worker and pay the worker all dues during that period. “The notice period must also not exceed three months and must be agreed by both parties,” it said.

The new rule also governs cases in which the employer or the worker terminates the contract without abiding by the legal procedures.

Another case involves a decision by the employer to terminate the worker’s services for committing offences including assaulting or insulting the employer.

Regarding unspecified contracts, the employer seeking to terminate a worker’s contract must also give a notice of not less than one month and not exceeding three months.

“In all contract termination cases, any party has the right to go to court to seek compensation and any other rights,” it said.

Under the new rule, the work contract is considered null if the employer is found to have violated the law including failure to pay the worker for two months.

In case a worker could not start his job because of the closure of the company, the labour ministry will send inspectors to check the company’s status before issuing a decision within two months.

As for cases considered by the labour court at the ministry, it will issue a final decision forcing the employer to pay the worker two months’ salary or to compensate him for service termination or depriving workers from end of service benefits.

New job contracts

The new rules also cover new job contracts to workers whose contracts have expired or terminated by an agreement between the employer and the worker provided the worker has completed at last six months with his employer.

According to ‘Emarat Al Youm’, the new law specified three cases involving termination of work contracts.

They include agreement by both parties provided the worker has spent at least six months with the employer, termination of the contract by either party for some reason, and termination of the contract by the employer without reason.

The new law allows the issuance of a new work permit in cases where the employer is found to have violated his commitments, including failure to pay workers for two months, a complaint by the worker that he is not able to start his job because of the company’s closure, and a labour dispute at the ministry’s court.

Ministerial decisions 764, 765 and 766 aim to improve labour relations based on sponsorship.