UAE Ministry of Labour begin issuing fines for labour-related offences from March 5

The Ministry of Labour will begin issuing fines for three types of labour-related offences, notably not issuing labour contracts, non-renewal of work permits during the grace period and a fine against non-renewal of the trade licence of private recruitment agencies.

The ministry will start issuing fines with effect from March 5 in accordance with the Cabinet’s decision which was issued recently.

Humaid Bin Deemas Al Suwaidi, Assistant Undersecretary of Labour Affairs at the ministry, said that under the Cabinet’s decision, employers will have a grace period of 60 days to renew work permits or get new work permits for their employees from the date of entry into the UAE or the adjustment of the employee’s status to avoid a Dh500 fine per month.

Bin Deemas stressed the importance of documenting labour contracts through the ministry, as well as the employer’s commitment to renew work permits in a timely manner. This helps the minsitry regulate relations between both parties and stabilises the labour market and thus protects the rights of both the employers and the employees.

“Starting March 5, the ministry will issue fines against private recruitment agencies that operate with expired licences. The decision includes both Temporary Employment offices and Mediate Offices,” he explained.

In implementation of the Cabinet’s decision, which took effect on January 5, the ministry provides temporary employment agency business owners with a 60-day grace period to renew their licences and avoid the fine. The fine used to be issued against those agencies on the day following the expiry date.

The Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs called upon private recruitment agencies to speed up renewals according to the procedures followed before March 5 in order to avoid fines, which increase by Dh1,000 for mediating agencies, and Dh2,000 for temporary employment agencies per month of delay. “The previous amount was Dh10,000 for both,” he said.

Temporary Employment offices use an employee’s services by hiring him out to work for a third party, where they carry out the work or service under the supervision of the third party. Mediate Offices act as a third party between both the employee and the employer to help in the negotiation process in terms of the contract to form a business relation between them.

Expatriates to pay addtional Dh220 for new family visas in Dubai

Expatriates applying for family visas will have to pay an additional Dh220 to open the file at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA).This is a one-time charge per family. The regular fees charged for the visa remain the same. The fee is applicable for new visas only. Existing visas can be renewed without additional payment.
According to sources at the typing centres in Dubai, the new fee became applicable last month and is mandatory for all new family visas.
GDRFA officials were not available to confirm the changes in visa fees despite repeated attempts.“The fee has to be paid at the time of submitting the visa application at GDRFA,” Wali Mohammad, a typist based in Al Karama, said.
However, another visa agent said that the file opening fee is charged for visa renewals as well.
“I have also come across some existing visa renewal cases where the applicants are charged the fee. There is some confusion and we haven’t had any clarity from the authorities,” Omar Mukhtar, manager of a typing centre in Al Satwa, said.

Typing centres also claimed that the entry permit fee for new family visas has increased from Dh360 to Dh400 per visa. The renewal fee remains Dh360.

The total cost of a new family visa is now Dh1,310, which includes Dh400 for entry permit, Dh290 for medical test, Dh270 for Emirates ID and Dh350 for visa stamping.

Meanwhile, the unannounced additional charges came as a surprise to many residents looking to apply for family visas.
“When I approached a typing centre to get applications typed for my wife and children I was told that there is a fee to open the file. I had not heard of it and made inquiries at the immigration office, which confirmed it,” Mohammad Esmail, from India, said.
Another applicant requested the authorities to announce any changes to the procedure prior to implementing it.
“I would want to hear it from the authorities rather than getting to know from other sources. When I approached the GDRFA office with my applications I was told that I have to first pay Dh220 to open a file. I was a bit irked, but had no choice but to pay it,” Khalid Attar said.

No increase in security deposit fee for hiring domestic helpers in UAE

Officials with the Ministry of Interior say there has been no increase in the security deposit needed to hire a maid within the UAE.
Contrary to media reports, the security deposit remains at Dh2,000 and is refundable when the maid completes her work contract, the work visa expires and they return to her home country, said a senior official at the Department of Residency and Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Interior on Tuesday.

The safety deposit will be returned once the visa is cancelled, the official at the Department of Residency and Foreign Affairs in the ministry told .The fees are applicable if a resident has to hire a new driver, housemaid, chef, nanny or any other domestic help, the official said.
In addition, a yearly non-refundable fee of Dh5,000 must be paid to the ministry for hiring the domestic
A copy of this document must be provided to the worker and should include an end-of-service gratuity, in addition to the monthly salary. The workers are entitled to one day off per week.

The contract cannot be valid for more than two years and has to be signed by the employment agency and the employer. It should include the date of employment, the job description and the wages among other details.
Additionally, domestic workers may be subjected to a six-month probation period.
Recently, residents expressed concern over the increasing fees being required by recruitment agencies that offer domestic helpers to the country’s residents. Therefore, a motion was passed at the Federal National Council last year to ensure that this hike be limited, by signing agreements with the countries that export them.
As of 2012, some of the highlights of the new regulations in hiring domestic help included that the weekly day off be fully paid or that a day in lieu be given to workers if they were required to work on that day, or that the day’s payment is received. A typical annual holiday of two weeks which can be carried forward to the following year if an employee failed to make use of them.

Workers have the right to withdraw their contracts if their employers inflict sexual or physical abuse. Employers cannot allow their domestic workers to do paid work with a third party without the ministry’s consent.

Upon the expiration of the contract, employers have to settle their workers’ dues within 10 days. In case of the death of an employee, employers must repatriate the body to the worker’s home country.

Employers need not provide severance pay if the employees are absent from work for more than 30 days.

worker.According to the UAE law, a standard labour contract is binding on the domestic workers and their employers.

UAE Ministry of Labour begin levying fine of Dh1,000 from companies fail to issue or renew electronic labour cards of employees

 Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Labour will begin levying a fine of Dh1,000 from companies that fail to issue or renew electronic labour cards of their employees from Sunday.
The move is in line with the Cabinet resolution over violations of labour laws.

However, Humaid bin Dimas Al Suwaidi, assistant under-secretary of the Ministry for Labour Affairs, said employers will be given a grace period — January 4 to June 30, 2015 — to adjust their status.

Employers who failed to issue or renew electronic Labour cards or “Plastic Labour Cards” for their employees will have to pay a maximum of Dh1,000 for each labour card that has not been issued or renewed by December 31, 2014.
He revealed that fines have so far reached a total amount of Dh2.85 billion, which will be reduced to Dh100 million as per the grace period given to employers for settlement.
The period covers the electronic card applications not issued or renewed until the end of this December.He urged employers to benefit from the grace period to settle the status of their workers and apply for the issuance and renewal of their workers’ e-labour cards.
Al Suwaidi said about 100,000 applications were submitted by 40,000 firms, representing 13 per cent of the total firms registered by the ministry.
“This confirms the government’s keenness to support employers and motivate them to settle those fines, which is a tool used by the ministry to control and regulate the labour market and provide protection to the workers,” Al Suwaidi added.
He explained that there are thousands of cards, some of which have fines reaching Dh53,000.
“Now that large fines have been reduced to only a Dh1,000, it is an opportunity for all employers and business owners to settle those fines and remove any sorts of restrictions in their records at the ministry,” Humaid said.
Furthermore, offenders during the grace period, will be stopped from obtaining all kinds of labour permits until they settle all the above mentioned fines. “Starting July 2015, employers will be asked to pay the Dh1,000 fine per card in addition to another Dh500 for each month of delay,” Bin Deemas pointed.

Al Suwaidi stated that the Ministry of Labour, starting from January 4, 2015, will fine employers “Dh500 per month if they fail to provide employment contracts to the ministry within a 60-day period starting from the entry of the employee into the country.”

He explained that this decision represents the keenness of the UAE to protect labourers’ rights and ensure a stable relationship between employer and employee with full transparency.
He said that the period of 60 days is sufficient for the employer to sign a contract with his new employee through Tas’heel service centres to properly document this, and any excuses of delay will not be accepted.

UAE Labour Ministry revised fees and fines from January 4

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has issued a resolution revising the Ministry of Labour’s fees and fines.

The Cabinet Resolution No. 40 for the year 2014, amending some of the fines and fees in the Cabinet Resolution No. 10 for the year 2012 will be effective from January 4, according to the latest issue of the official gazette.

• Delay in renewing a job contract for 60 days from the date of the worker’s entry into the country or the date of adjusting the worker’s legal status will invite a fine of Dh500 per month even if the delay is only for less than a month, according to the new resolution. At present the fine is Dh1,000.
• The fine for failure to get a mission contract issued within 30 days from the date of the worker’s entry and the failure to renew it for seven days after its expiry is Dh100 per day.
• Companies that falsify Emiratisation records will invite a fine of Dh20,000 per worker and Dh5,000 will be levied from the companies for providing incorrect information in the Wage Protection System (WPS) to evade or manipulate the regulations per case. The maximum fine in the last case will be Dh50,000.
• Non-settlement of employee’s wage for 60 days will attract a fine of Dh5,000 per worker with the maximum of Dh50,000 if the case includes more than one worker. Companies forcing employees to sign forged documents showing that the payment of their dues was made will have to pay Dh5,000 as fine per worker. Dh20,000 is the fine per case for non-compliance with the workers’ accommodation regulations and for not employing the worker for a period exceeding two months
• Charging the worker for the visa and employment fees or deducting such fees from his wage without any legal reason will attract a fine of Dh5,000. This fine is Dh20,000 at present.
• The fine will be Dh20,000 if the company fails to comply with the Emirati employment policies or doesn’t respond to the Ministry of Labour’s summons within the time frame specified by the ministry.
• Failure to report absconding workers in compliance with the relevant rules and filing a malicious absconding report will also attract a Dh20,000 fine per worker.
• The company will be fined Dh5,000 if it flouts the midday break rule per worker. The maximum fine will be Dh50,000 if the case includes more than one worker.
• Submitting forged documents or incorrect information to the ministry will attract a Dh20,000 fine per case.
• The failure to subscribe to the wage protection system, adhere to the professional health and safety standards, report work injuries, occupational diseases or a worker’s death to the ministry, and/or failure to follow medical hazards and emergency procedures will attract a fine of Dh10,000 per case.
• Failure to remove accommodation violation on time will attract Dh10,000 per case.
• Failure to renew licence of a brokerage agency within 60 days from the date of expiry will attract Dh1,000 per month, while the fine for failing to renew a recruitment agency within 60 days from the date of expiry will be Dh2,000 per month.
• The fee for work permit card for a period of two years will be Dh300 for the first category. The fee for second category employees, which include three levels, will be Dh600, Dh1,500 and Dh2,000 respectively.
• The fee for the third category will be Dh5,000 for renewing their work permits.
• A fee of Dh5,000 will be applicable for issuance of work permits for those more than 65 years with a validity of two years.
• Fines accumulated for failure to obtain or renew labour cards on time, before this resolution takes effect on January 4, will be a maximum of Dh1,000 per worker, provided that payment is made within six months from January 4.
• A Dh500 fine will be collected for delay of payment per month