Employee Always Late to Work Not eligible for Gratuity - HR Ministry UAE

Employees who are sacked because of their failure to abide by work timings are not entitled for gratuity, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization.

The Ministry outlined such a rule in a response to a query by an employer who complained that some of his workers persistently fail to come to office on time despite his repeated warnings that their services could be terminated.

In his letter to the Ministry, the employer said those workers ignored his warnings and continued to violate work timings. He asked the Ministry whether he would be committed to paying them gratuity in case he terminates their services.

“Workers whose service is terminated due to job misbehavior after repeated notices by the employer are not entitled for end-of-service benefits or any compensation for the sacking,” the Ministry said, according to Emarat Al Youm daily.

The paper quoted a Ministry official as saying employers must first take measures to ensure discipline by their employees in line with Article 120 of the UAE Labour Law.

The source said such measures include notices and meetings with the non-punctual workers, adding that employers can gradually cut those workers’ wages.

“In case the worker does not respond to such warnings, the employer can issue an ultimatum to the worker that he would terminate his service…after that ultimatum, he is authorized to sack the worker if he fails to comply.”

Mandatory health insurance for all in Dubai by June 2016

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) will complete the implementation of Dubai’s Mandatory Health Insurance Scheme ISAHD (Bringing Happiness), by the end of June, 2016.

DHA is currently in the third and final phase of implementing the scheme on companies with less than 100 employees, including all spouses, dependents and domestic workers

Dr. Haidar Al Yousuf, Director of Public Health Funding at DHA said that 75 per cent of Dubai expatriates are now covered by the insurance, thanks to the mandatory health insurance."This means we have 25 per cent left to cover by June, we hope to have close to 100 per cent of Dubai expatriates covered by the insurance by the end of next month," he said.

He added that the implementation of the scheme, to have all Dubai resident covered by health insurance is going according to the adopted time frame. Dr. Al Yousuf said that linking the health insurance scheme to visa issuance and renewal in partnership with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) contributed to the success of the implementation process.

Dr. Al Yousuf called on all companies to hurry in insuring their employers before the end of June 2016, to avoid penalties imposed by Executive Council Resolution No.7 of 2016. DHA has completed the first phase that included companies with more than 1,000 in 2014 and the second phase, which included companies with 999 to 100 employees in 2015.

The necessity to hold the Health Insurance Permit (HIP) is mandatory and only those companies with a valid permit are eligible to provide insurance cover as part of Dubai's Mandatory Health Insurance Scheme which is being rolled-out in phases until June -2016. The scheme is known as ISAHD which stands for Insurance System for Advancing Healthcare in Dubai and also means happiness in Arabic.

So far, 46 insurance companies and four TPA's have achieved unconditional compliance, AL Maidoor said: "Putting these criteria in place is important as it sets unified quality standards for the health insurance industry in Dubai and protects all parties involved especially customers. Since we have set minimum criteria many insurance companies have improved their standards in terms of customer service, complaints handling, data security and operational effectiveness in order to obtain a permit. Putting such a process in place also assures the public that these companies have met minimum standards required. From a regulatory point of view, we can ensure that checks and measures are in place and in case of violations we can take action with the ultimate sanction being revocation of the permit."

He said insurance companies who qualified as Participating Insurers to provide essential health benefits (EHB) package to resident employees with salaries below AED 4,000 underwent a rigorous assessment procedure to ascertain their ability to provide an insurance package at an affordable rate. The premium for this package will range between AED 500-700 per person per year. Al Maidoor said: "The objective of the essential benefits plan is to provide adequate cover at a reasonable cost to employers. DHA recognizes that in doing so insurers also have to make a reasonable profit. Only those capable of handling volume business and who can operate effectively over the long term can make the system sustainable.

Transfer of Residence visa for Employees from a private sector to another private sector in U.A.E

This involves procedures of Naturalization and Residency Administration/Dubai to transfer the sponsorship of employees from a company to another by the approval of the ministry of labor.

Applicant:Sponsor, Agent

Documents Required

1. Prepaid Application of Issuing and transferring residence visa.
2. Photographs of the sponsored
3. The medical test in original or online.
4. Sponsorship transfer application approved by (entry permits dept.) with fees paid.
5. Copy of the company valid trade license.
6. Copy of the company valid establishment card.

Fees Required

Classifying the Fees Required:

1-(870) AED fees of issuing a residence visa with sponsorship transfer paid through E-Form and broken down as follows :

(500 )AED local sponsorship transfer fees.

(100) AED federal fees for issuing residence visa ( maximum 3 years)

(50) AED local fees.

(10) AED Datel services fees

(10) AED knowledge Dirham.

2-(130) AED urgent application fees ( optional ) to be broken down as follows:

(100) AED local fees.

(10) AED administrative fees.

(10) AED bank charges.

(10) AED Knowledge Dirham.

3-(20) AED Zajil delivery service for ordinary applications (optional) .

The service shall be offered at the following sections to the building employees in charge only:

1- General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai General Headquarters Branch -Dubai Police.

2-. General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai Municipality Clinic Branch.

3- General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai -  Dubai Media City Branch.

4- General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai- Dubai Financial Center Branch.

5- General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai - Rashid Hospital Branch.

 Submission Places

1. General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai, 
2. Dubai Industrial City Branch,
3.  Dnata Section-Sheikh Zayed Road,
4.  Um Suqaim Section, 
5. Ladies Section – Residence Department, 
6. Al Arabi Center Section, 
7. Medical Fitness Section, 
8. Dubai Airport Free Zone Area Section, 
9. Bin Sougat Center Section,
10.  Jebel Ali Section,
11.  Hatta Section, 
12. Hayatt Regency Section, 
13. Dnata- Deira Section, 
14. His Highness Dubai Ruler’s Court Section, 
15. Emirate Airlines Section, 
16. Municipality Clinic Section,
17.  Al-Safa Clinic Section,
18.  Dubai Technology and Media City Section, 
19. Dubai International Financial Center Section,
20.  Rashid Hospital Section.

Labour Ban and U.A.E Ministerial Decree 766 Rules for Work Permit

Ministerial Decree 766 of 2015 sets out new rules on work permits with result easing of labor bans .Rules and Conditions for granting a permit to a worker for employment by a new employer as per Decree 766

As per Ministerial Decree 766 and effective from January 2016 a new work permit will be issued and hence no labour ban arises in the following circumstances (applicability to each type of contract illustrated in the relevant columns). Clearly the changes provide for a more fluid labour market and greater employee mobility. The circumstances in which labour bans can be issued are so radically.

No	Circumstances	Limited Contract	Un-Limited Contract
1	The contract has expired and not renewed	No Ban
2	Either party unilaterally terminates the employment relationship after the expiry of the first fixed term contract provided that: a)     The terminating party gives notice to the other party as per the MOL Contract; b)     The terminating party continues to honor the contractual obligations for the duration of the notice period; and c)     The terminating party indemnifies the other party in the amount that was agreed to in the MOL Contract. This provision  appears to have been written purely with intention of addressing where an employee resigns during the term of the contract (as otherwise an employee would not be entitled to a new work permit if the employer was in breach of (b) which does not appear to be the intention of the legislation).	No Ban
Our Ban3	Either party unilaterally terminates the employment relationship provided that: a)     The terminating party gives notice to the other party as per the MOL Contract; b)     The terminating party continues to honour the contractual obligations for the duration of the notice period; and c)     The employee has completed a period of no less than six months (if the employee has a high school diploma or higher the 6 month period is waived).		No Ban
4	The parties mutually agree to terminate the contract during the course of its term, provided the employee has completed a period of no less than six months (if the employee has a high school diploma or higher the 6 month period is waived).	No Ban	No Ban
5	Where the employment is terminated by the employer through no fault of the employee; provided the employee has completed a period of no less than six months (again if the employee has a high school diploma or higher the 6 month period is waived).	No Ban	No Ban
6	Where the employer has failed to meet his legal or contractual obligations, including but not limited to when the employer fails to pay the employee’s wages for more than 60 days.	No Ban	No Ban
7	Where the employer is shutting down	No Ban	No Ban
8	Where the labour court provides a final ruling in favor of the employee that attests that is entitled to: ·         Accrued wages for no less than two months of work ·         Arbitrary or early termination compensation, or ·         Any other entitlements that the employer has abstained from granting including end-of-service gratuity.	No Ban	No Ban

The new changes certainly add transparency and clarity for U.A.E Labour Law on issues such as offer letters and termination provisions. The greater workplace mobility provisions are likely to have an immediate impact on the labour market and it will reflect in U.A.E economy

The main beneficiaries of the changes will be blue collar workers and those recruited from aboard by unscrupulous companies offering terms and conditions that are not then honoured in the UAE.