UAE has just implemented its new set of labor laws, by replacing federal Law No. 8 of 1980 and enacting Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. The new law is enacted on 22 February 2022 and it covers the private sector employment relations. The labor laws changes are genuinely significant and require revisions to existing business contacts, as well as adjustments to arrangements and systems concerning future contracts with new employees. The UAE government is intending to give leading guidelines for further guidance on the new regulations. The UAE government has also changed the weekly working schedule by a half-day on Friday.
This is the most meaningful change and expects businesses to alter current work arrangements (to the degree that they are not currently fixed-term). Managers should put all workers on fixed-term business contracts with a term of three years. Contract terms might be more limited whenever settled upon. There is no greatest number of fixed-term gets that businesses might go into progressively. Managers have until February 2023 to move all workers to fixed-term arrangements.
The probationary time frame under the new work regulation remains parts unaltered at a half year. The new regulation does present specific notice necessities during the probation time frame. In particular, assuming a worker is waiting on the post-trial process, bosses should now give at least fourteen days of written notification of the expectation to fire the business contract. In case the worker decides to leave the job during the probation period, he must serve a notice to the employee one month prior if he plans to join some other employer in UAE and 14 days prior notice if he is planning to leave UAE.
Flexible working agreement
The new laws allow parties to have a flexible working agreement as the parties may like according to their employment type and relationship.
Under the new law, employees must use their annual leave in the same calendar year that it accrues, except if generally agreed by the parties. The parties are free to decide on their rest day. It can be any day of the week decided by the parties.
The new regulation increments maternity pass-on qualifications to sixty scheduled days; the initial 45 days are settled completely and the fifteen days at one-half compensation. The new regulation precludes managers from decreasing a worker’s maternity pay if a representative has not finished one entire year of work at the hour of profiting from maternity leave. Workers are currently qualified for maternity leave and pay in conditions where the worker prematurely delivers following a half year of delivery, experiences a stillbirth, or encounters the passing of a baby after birth. Workers who gave birth to a child who is handicapped, debilitated, or ill and whose ailments require steady observation are qualified for thirty extra scheduled long stretches of maternity leave (paid), which can be additionally reached out for thirty extra days (unpaid).
The law diminishes workers’ privilege to nursing parts from eighteen months to a half year from the date of delivery. Workers have expanded unpaid time off after depleting maternity leave for a pregnancy-related ailment, how-ever the privilege has been diminished to 45 days from 100 days.
Representatives with over two years of administration who are affiliated or enrolled with a recognized UAE educational institute are qualified for ten working days of study leave each year. The new regulation is quiet with regard to whether this should be paid or might be unpaid.
In case of the passing of a worker’s spouse, the law qualifies the representative for five days’ paid leave. In case of the passing of a worker’s parent, kids, siblings, or grandparent, the law qualifies the representative for three days’ leave.
The base notification time frame for the end of a business contract stays thirty days, however, the longer notification time frame is presently covered at ninety days. The new work regulation additionally forces the least notification periods for ending current limitless term contracts preceding executing the new fixed-term contracts. In this case, the business should give no less than thirty days’ notification assuming the worker was utilized for under five years; something like sixty days’ notification in the event that the representative was utilized for over five years, and ninety days’ notification on the off chance that the representative utilized for over a decade.
The grounds for terminations can be termination of employment by the Company due to its need to reduce the size of its workforce and it is viewed as a legitimate reason for the end of a business contract under the new regulation. Under the earlier regulation, the above mention reason for termination was not perceived. There can be other grounds for terminations as well, including where a worker: (I) mishandles their situation for a benefit or individual addition; or (ii) starts work for one more business without conforming to the pertinent principles and rules. The workers are entitled to get a one-day per week of unpaid leave to find a new job during their notice period.
End Service Gratuity is a benefit payment for employees when they resign from their work or when their job contract ends. Under the earlier regulation, an (EOSG) for a leaving representative was diminished in light of how long the worker had been utilized (i.e., there was no EOSG on the off chance that the worker had not finished somewhere around one year of administration; 33% EOSG assuming the worker had finished as long as three years’ administration; 66% EOSG if the worker had somewhere in the range of three and five years’ administration; and 100% EOSG assuming that the worker had finished over five years’ administration). Under the new regulation, the worker will be qualified for full EOSG when they leave.
All end privileges should be paid to workers somewhere around fourteen days after the end date. Preceding the new regulation. The maximum post-termination restricted period for incomplete agreements under the new law is two years.
A few provisions are good to be known even if they are not part of the agreement between the parties.
The new labor laws protect the work from all kinds of discrimination based on sex, caste creed, nationality, social origin, disability, etc. An employee cannot be terminated or threatened to be fired or terminated on the basis of the fact that is she pregnant. (Reinforced under the new law).
The pay should be equal for mam and women if they are doing the same work.
Under the new law, the employee is protected from sexual harassment and bullying, etc. no physical or psychological violence is allowed. (Article 14). Under Article 13 the employer is bound to execute internal work rules. The new law bounds the employer to keep the employees’ records after the termination.