References
Federal Law No. 8 on the Regulation of Labour Relations [FLLR], dated 20 April 1980, consolidated version including amendments up to 2001 <br/>[Note: this Law was amended in 2007, and the 2007 are not included in the electronic version available in English. However, those amendments are not related to Employment Protection Legislation].
Date:
1 Jan 1970;
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Scope
Size of enterprises excluded (≤): none
Workers' categories excluded: state security corps, civil/public servants, agricultural workers, domestic workers, police, army
According to art. 4 FLLR, the law does not apply to the
following categories:
a) officials, employees and workers of the federal government, government departments of the member Emirates, municipalities, public bodies, federal and local public institutions, and those working in federal and local governmental projects;
b) members of the armed forces, the police and the security units;
c) domestic servants working in private residences;
d) agricultural workers (other than those persons employed in the agricultural corporations engaged in processing their products or those permanently engaged in operating or repairing mechanical machines required for agriculture).
Reforms under process:
There have been changes to the labour law in 2010, effective as of January 2011. However these changes did not affect termination of employment.
For further information, see: http://www.dubaifaqs.com/labour-law-uae.php (link also provided below under "Scope of additional information").
FTC regulated: Yes
See art. 38 FLLR.
Valid reasons for FTC use: no limitation
The law does not set out any limitation on the reasons for which a FTC can be concluded.
Maximum number of successive FTCs: no limitation
Art. 38 FLLR provides that a contract concluded for a limited period can be renewed one or more times for similar or shorter periods by mutual agreement.
Maximum cumulative duration of successive FTCs: no limitation
Art.38 FLLR provides for a maximum duration of 4 years for a single FTC. However, there are no statutory limitations on the maximum cumulative duration of successive FTCs.
Maximum probationary (trial) period (in months): 6 month(s)
Art. 37 FLLR: max. 6 months (not renewable).
Termination during that period is allowed without notice or end of service payment.
Obligation to provide reasons to the employee: No
Upon dismissal, the employer is not required inform the employees of the reasons for dismissal.
Valid grounds (justified dismissal):
Prohibited grounds: filing a complaint against the employer
n particular, a termination
shall be regarded as arbitrary if it is prompted by a formal complaint filed by the
worker with the competent authorities or a legal action instituted against the
employer that proved to be valid.
Workers enjoying special protection: workers on temporary leave following an occupational disease or a work injury, nationals
- UAE national employees:
National employee account for a tiny proportion of the workforce in the private sector. [Some sources refer to 0.3%, (see:http://www.uaeinteract.com/docs/Emiratis_in_private_sector_make_0.3_percent_of_workforce/36439.htm) other to 7 % (see: http://story.arabherald.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/-e3942fd745a4fbc9/id/45389170/)]
Article 1 of the Decision 176 states that dismissal of a UAE national employee will be regarded as "illegal" (literally "without legal ground") in one of the following four circumstances:
On February 2009, a Ministerial Resolution No 176 restricting the conditions for dismissing a UAE national employees was adopted. This decision provides that the dismissal of a UAE national is unlawful in one of the following 4 circumstances:
1) where the UAE employee is dismissed for reasons other than those mentioned in Article 120 of the FLLR (i.e for reasons other those allowing for summary dismissal);
2) if it is proven that the employer retains a non-UAE national who is performing work similar to that performed by the dismissed UAE national;
3) the employer failed to inform the Ministry of Labour 30 days prior to the dismissal, or failed to comply with the Ministry's instructions within the designated times; and
4) if it is proven that the UAE employee was not paid the full compensation due to him and the payment of his full retirement benefits as specified in the Federal Law on Labour Relations, its implementing regulations, the contract of employment or any other contractually binding document.
Art. 3 of that Decision sets out the consequence of a violation of the Decision as follows: if the Ministry of Labour considers that the termination of the UAE national was unlawful it will inform the employer as which will then have 15 days to resolve the dispute with the UAE employee according to the directives of the Ministry. If the employer fails to resolve the dispute within this period, the matter is referred immediately to the relevant court and the Ministry will put stop issuing new labour permits (requested by the employer) until the court renders a final judgment in the matter.
(Note that the Ministerial Decision No. 176/2009 is not available in English but is summarized in Hadef and Partner, "Employment of UAE Nationals", 31 May 2009. The link to this article is provided below under "Scope of additional information")
- Workers on temporary sick leave:
The FFLR prohibits the dismissal of a worker on the ground that he or she is medically unfit to work before the worker exhausts all the periods of leave to which he entitled under the law (art. 124). Furthermore, an employer shall not dismiss a worker or serve a notice of dismissal while the worker is on annual leave or sick leave except in circumstances entailing summary dismissal (art. 90 FLLR).
Notification to the worker to be dismissed: written
Art. 117 FLLR.
Notice period:
Art. 117 FLLR provides that either party may terminate a contract of unlimited duration for a valid reason at any time provided that written notice is given to the other party at least 30 days prior to termination.
In respect of employees paid on a daily-basis, the period of notice is as follows:
- one week in the employee has worked for more than six months but less than one year;
- two weeks if the employee has worked for at least one year;
- one month if the employee has worked for at least five years.
Pay in lieu of notice: Yes
Art. 119 FLLR.
Notification to the public administration: No
Notification is however required in the event of a dismissal of national employees (which only account for a small percentage of the workforce in the private sector). Under art.1.3 of the Ministerial Resolution No. 176 of 2009 "Restricting the Dismissal of UAE National Employees", the dismissal of a UAE national in unlawful if the employer failed to inform the Ministry of Labour at least 30 days prior to the dismissal or fails to comply with the Ministry's instructions within the designated times.
Notification to workers' representatives: No
Approval by public administration or judicial bodies: No
Approval by workers' representatives: No
Definition of collective dismissal (number of employees concerned) No statutory definition of collective dismissal or economic dismissal (redundancy)
Notification to the public administration No
Notification to trade union (workers' representatives) No
Notification to workers' representatives: No
Approval by trade union (workers' representatives) No
Approval by workers' representatives No
Priority rules for collective dismissals (social considerations, age, job tenure) No
No priority rules for collective dismissal as such. However, it is important to keep in mind that UAE nationals enjoy special protection against dismissal. Pursuant to the Ministerial Resolution No 176 of 2009, it is unlawful to dismiss a UAE national employee in 4 instance including: 1) where the UAE employee is dismissed for reasons other than those mentioned in Article 120 of the Labour Law (ie for reasons other than summary dismissal) (Article 1.1) or
2) if it is proven that the employer retains a non-UAE national who is performing work similar to that performed by the dismissed UAE national (Article 1.2).
Employer's obligation to consider alternatives to dismissal (transfers, retraining...) No
Priority rules for re-employment Yes
Notes / Remarks
The Federal Law on Labour Relations does not contain any provision on dismissals (individual or collective) for economic reasons.
:
According to art. 132 FLLR, a worker who has completed one year or more of continuous service is entitled to severance pay (also referred to as "end of service gratuity") at the end of his employment. Severance pay is calculated as follows:
- 21 days' wages for each year of the first five years of service; and
- 30 days' wages for each additional year, provided that the total amount does not exceed 2 years' wages.
A worker shall be entitled to severance pay for any fraction of a year during which he actually served, provided that he has completed one year of continuous service (art. 133 FLLR)
There is no entitlement to severance pay if the employee is terminated for one of the reasons set out in Article 120 of the Labour Law (those entailing summary dismissal) (art. 139 FLLR).
: 0 month(s)
: 0 month(s)
: 21 day(s)
: 42 day(s)
: 84 day(s)
: 105 day(s)
: 255 day(s)
: 555 day(s)
:
No specific redundancy pay. Severance pay covers dismissals for economic reasons.
: 0 month(s)
: 0 month(s)
: 21 day(s)
: 42 day(s)
: 84 day(s)
: 105 day(s)
: 255 day(s)
: 555 day(s)
:
No specific redundancy pay. Severance pay covers dismissals for economic reasons.
: 0 month(s)
: 0 month(s)
: 21 day(s)
: 42 day(s)
: 84 day(s)
: 105 day(s)
: 255 day(s)
: 555 day(s)
mine workers: No
Art. 123 FLLR.
Compensation for unfair dismissal - Legal limits (ceiling in months or calculation method): Maximum 3 months' wages calculated on the basis of the worker's last wages.
See art. 123 FLLR
managerial / executive positions: No
The FLLR does not provide for reinstatement.
However, some sources state that the dismissal of a UAE national employee in violation of the terms of the Ministerial Decision No 176 of 2009 may entail reinstatement although not expressly provided in that Decision. Art. 3 of that Decision sets out the consequence of a violation of the Decision as follows: if the Ministry of Labour considers that the termination of the UAE national was unlawful it will inform the employer as which will then have 15 days to resolve the dispute with the UAE employee according to the directives of the Ministry. If the employer fails to resolve the dispute within this period, the matter is referred immediately to the relevant court and the Ministry will put stop issuing new labour permits (requested by the employer) until the court renders a final judgment in the matter.
(see for instance, Latham & Watkins, "Employment Issues in the United Arab Emirates", October 2009, p.4, available at: http://www.lw.com/upload/pubContent/_pdf/pub2801_1.pdf)
police: Yes
See art. 6 FLLR: the dispute shall be first brought to the
Labour Department which handles a conciliation process. If no amicable settlement is reached, the Labour Department will refer the dispute to the Court within 15 days from the date of submission.
Existing arbitration: No
Arbitration is not available for the settlement of individual disputes. However, in the event of a collective dispute, if no settlement is reached before the Labour Department during the mediation process, the dispute is then referred to the Conciliation Board which shall issue a decision on the dispute. The decision of the Conciliation Boards can be appealed before The Supreme Arbitration Committee (see arts. 158-161 FLLR)
Length of procedure: 1year(s)
Info found in secondary sources:
In case of an individual labour dispute, the conciliation phase before the Ministry of labour generally takes 2-4 weeks.
When the case is referred to the Court of first instance, it generally takes one year to be adjudicated.
If the employee appeals the decision of the Court of Instance and goes to the Court of Cassation, the process is longer: generally additional 2 years.
(See: The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Employment & Labour Law 2011, "United Arab Emirates", (Chap. 32) by Alfridi & Angel, available at: http://www.iclg.co.uk/khadmin/Publications/pdf/4385.pdf