Hiring illegal maids Violators in UAE could face jail sentence and fines up to Dh100,000

In a bid to crackdown on offenders who hire house help illegally, Ministry of Interior officials may conduct random checks within residential communities in Dubai to tackle the problem.
In a circular distributed to residents in its communities, master developer Emaar Properties has warned residents to be wary of hiring maids, gardeners and drivers through illegal ways.
“Don’t break the law by hiring illegal household staff,” reads a circular issued by the community management arm of the developer.
The company has advised its residents that the UAE’s Ministry of Interior will be “conducting random checks within the community and should they find persons working illegally in your home (e.g. housemaids, gardeners, drivers etc.), you could face a jail sentence and substantial fines ranging between Dh50,000 and Dh100,000.”
Residents have been advised to only keep staff members who are under their sponsorship or hired through a professional household service company.
As the city grows and expats and new professionals arrive each day, the housekeeping market is flourishing in Dubai. Hiring illegally can be a cheaper option but one that is very risky and can put your family in danger. Dubai Police have repeatedly cautioned residents against hiring cheap but dangerous labour, saying this can make them vulnerable to crime, especially if they have small children to be taken care of.
Despite repeated warnings by the authorities, some households are still found using the services of maids and drivers who are not hired as per the law. To step up security and to make it difficult for such ‘freelance workers’ to get access into the communities, the property developer has asked residents to register their staff with the community security after which they will be issued an ID card.

Drinking water without EQM mark not to be allowed in UAE from October 1 20014

The UAE’s mandatory technical regulation for drinking water will take effect on October 1, Dr Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, and Chairman of Emirates Standardization Metrology Authority (Esma), announced on Sunday.

The minister made it clear that any drinking water products which don't comply with the UAE Scheme for Drinking Water, approved by the UAE cabinet, and don't carry the Emirates Quality Mark (conformity mark recognised by Esma) will not be allowed into the market.

The new mechanism, he emphasized, is part of Esma's strategy to regulate and monitor products which have direct impact on health, safety of the consumer and the environment and to promote knowledge-based, competitive economy, sustainable environment and integrated infrastructure.

The minister explained that Esma board  had decided to grant an additional six months till October instead of April 1  for the enforcement of the system in response to requests by water producers and suppliers to allow them distribute their stock of drinking water and other imported products which don't carry the Emirates Quality Mark (EQM) in local market.

The new comprehensive control system aims to improve water standards in terms of quality by unifying control mechanisms on drinking water which include production, processing, packaging and distribution.

Bin Fahad told a forum, organised by Esma for 150 producers, suppliers and bottlers of drinking water and associated products, the grace period was granted to avoid any shortage of bottled water supply in the local market and spare these companies any financial loss.

''The UAE Scheme for Drinking Water, prepared by Esma in partnership with other public and private stakeholders on par with international best practices, defines the technical standard requirements for drinking water, and effective control and monitoring mechanisms regarding production, import and distribution processes,'' the minister said.

The minister noted that 154 companies had registered with the system (98 in 2013 and 56 since the beginning of 2014) of which 93 were local companies accounting for 60.4 per cent of the total companies.

He added that eight out of 14 companies applied for the Emirates Quality Mark had been awarded the registration certificates. The remaining 6 were on the final processes of auditing and conformity assessment.

UAE may soon approve new companies law: Minister

The UAE is soon expected to approve a long-awaited new law covering the operations of companies in the country, a step towards attracting fresh foreign investment, the economy minister said on Monday.

"The companies law is with the government to be ratified by the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan - we are expecting that soon," Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, told reporters.

The new law, which has been years in the making, contains dozens of articles seeking to make limited liability and joint stock companies simpler to manage and more attractive to investors, while strengthening corporate governance in areas such as companies making loans to their directors.

The law would provide for companies’ documentation to be made publicly available, a step towards a more transparent corporate environment in the UAE.

One article, contained in a version of the law given preliminary approval last year, would reduce the minimum free float in initial public offers of shares to 30 per cent from 55 per cent, the ratio which currently applies on the UAE's two main stock exchanges.

The minimum ratio deters some corporate founders who want to maintain majority ownership, and has been criticised as one factor encouraging UAE companies to list their shares in overseas markets such as London rather than domestically. Officials have not confirmed that the article lowering the ratio will be included in the final version.

The law will certainly be less radical than some investors had hoped; last year the consultative Federal National Council rejected an article that would have eased tight controls on foreign ownership of companies, citing security fears and threats to local businesses.

The article would have given the UAE cabinet the power to let foreign parties own stakes of up to 100 per cent in companies outside free zones. Currently, foreigners can generally hold stakes of up to 49 per cent in businesses located outside free zones.

Last year, the economy minister said the article liberalising foreign ownership would be included in a draft foreign investment law. That bill has now been finalised by a ministerial legal committee and is awaiting approval of the FNC, Mansouri said on Monday.

Meanwhile, a law on small and medium-sized enterprises, which the cabinet hopes will boost the growth of SMEs and encourage UAE citizens to establish companies, is on its way, Mansouri said: "The SMEs law has been ratified by the President. That should be out soon."

The law is expected to include provisions encouraging government agencies to provide support to SMEs.

The UAE expects to attract € 8.6 billion ($11.9 billion; Dh43.67bn) in foreign direct investment into its non-oil sector in 2014, 20 per cent more than last year, Mansouri said.

The second biggest Arab economy is investing billions of dollars in industry, tourism, real estate and infrastructure to wean its economy off its reliance on oil exports.

Emirates ID Card to include traffic details-Federal Traffic Council

The Federal Traffic Council has recommended unifying drivers' traffic file information and linking it to the Emirates ID card so that it takes the same ID number. This is in a bid to make it easy for customers to complete their transactions in any one of the emirates in the country.

Major General Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, Head of the Federal Traffic Council and Deputy Chief Commander for Operational Affairs at Dubai Police,  said that the council has finalised drafts of the recommendations related to traffic law and is expecting suggestions on the possibility of adding new texts that are commensurate with the developments and requirements of traffic security.

Al Zafeen added that the council has issued a set of recommendations to be submitted to the higher committee for policies and strategies headed by Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, to take the final relative decision, noting that Sheikh Saif has given clear directives for unifying traffic related procedures in all the emirates, aiming to eliminate any deficiencies or differences in regulations or application.

He pointed out that members of the council and directors of traffic departments in the country have unanimously approved these recommendations. Mechanisms to implement the recommendations will be coordinated with the relevant authorities in each emirate, he added.

UAE visa on arrival for 13 EU countries

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced today that citizens of 13 European Union member states, who hold ordinary passports, will be exempted from the need to acquire pre-entry visas to the UAE with effect from March 22, 2014, in implementation of the decision taken by the UAE Cabinet in this regard.

The countries are: Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia, Malta, Cyprus, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.

As a result of the above decision, citizens of all 28 countries in the EU will be allowed to enter the UAE without having to previously apply for a visa.

The Ministry statement added that all necessary measures have been taken by the Ministry of the Interior to implement the decision at all UAE points of entry.

The statement went on to say that these exemptions will enhance political relations between the UAE and European Union, will help to further develop economic ties and bilateral trade and will also help to encourage mutual investment, while promoting tourism both to and from these countries.