Q: I was the CEO of a private office & group of companies owned by one of Abu Dhabi Sheikhs. My visa was issued for the private office and it was for three years. We both signed a special employment agreement. The agreement was not filed or approved by the Labour Department. I had no labour card. Also, my payroll was not paid through the Wages Protection System of the Labour Department. Does the labour law apply to any dispute with the employer or we should see the provisions of the employment agreement?

Q: Hi, I was employed by a DMCC business but was based overseas (in Australia), not working in the UAE. My employment contract was not registered with DMCC or MOHRE and I am looking to confirm what specific law requires UAE businesses to register employee contracts. Is this requirement applicable to workers based overseas? I'm in dispute with my employer and have been advised that my employment contract is not valid due to it not being registered. Many thanks.

Q: Hi, I need some help in understanding Dubai employment laws in hiring expatriates. We are an Indian based parent company, and we have a legal subsidiary in Dubai. Lately, we are exploring the South African market and we would like to hire a local person in South Africa. However, We don’t have a legal entity in South Africa. We are exploring an option where an employee can be governed by Dubai payroll but he/ she will be delegated to South Africa (Employee will get benefited in this case as he/ she gets ESOPS/ RSUS as we have a legal entity here in Dubai). I have following questions: Is it a smooth option to explore? (If we want to make a South African national as Dubai entity employee but delegated to South Africa). What's the detailed process to put him/ her on the payroll (Visa, registration...etc.). I highly appreciate your inputs in this regard.

The UAE has adopted a major reform in its legislative system that brought about 40 new laws and amendments to the company law, criminal law, personal status, among others. The amendments aim to develop the legislative structure in various sectors, the labor law being one of these, was the most recent. We try in this article to shed light on the changes introduced with the new labor law and their significance on both, the employer and employee.

تحول نظام "العمل عن بعد" في دولة الإمارات إلى صمام أمان يسهم في المحافظة على سلامة أفراد المجتمع وتمكينهم من أداء أعمالهم ومهامهم اليومية بكل يسر وسهولة. تطبق الإمارات لليوم الثالث على التوالي نظام "العمل عن بعد" على مستوى واسع النطاق وسط كفاءة ونجاح كبير في استمرارية الأعمال والخدمات على أعلى مستوى. ونجحت دولة الإمارات في بناء منظومة مرنة ومستقبلية لـ "العمل عن بعد"، لتصبح مثالا عالميا يحتذى في الكفاءة والفاعلية والجاهزية العالية لأية ظروف أومتغيرات.

The provisions of this Law, known as "UAE Labour Law", govern the relationship between employers and employees and other labour matters in the United Arab Emirates. There are special labour related regulations applicable in some of the free zones in the UAE.

The provisions of this Decree-Law, known as "New UAE Labor Law", govern labour relations in the private sector of the United Arab Emirates. The New Labor Law repeals the previous UAE Labor Law (Federal Law No. (8) of 1980).