UAE: New labor law measures for employers, employees

Changes, benefits, and implications

Changes, benefits, and implications

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) implemented a new labor law governing the private-sector’s employment relations.

As a result of changes in the new labor law, employers operating in the UAE are required to take certain compliance actions. The new labor law applies to employers and employees within the UAE’s private sector and includes working model measures regarding:

  • Part-time work for one or more employers for a specific number of hours or days
  • Temporary work to be completed within a specific duration of time or for a specific task
  • Flexible work performed with the discretion to perform all or part of the work remotely

The new labor law further provides employers with additional options to meet their recruitment needs as well as flexibility for employees who seek non-traditional working models.        

In accordance with the new labor law, unlimited term employment contacts are no longer valid and limited term contracts cannot exceed a period of three years. As a result, employers need to amend their existing unlimited contractual agreements to limited contractual agreements within one year of the date of enactment.

The labor law also addresses a variety of items such as the scope of employees’ work, covenants not to compete, non-discrimination clauses, leave agreements, and workplace rules.

Read a June 2022 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in the UAE

 

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