UAE Labour Law in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and other emirates

UAE Labour Law in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and other emirates

Labour regulations in the UAE are governed by the UAE Labour Law - Federal Law No. 8 of 1980.
Amendments include Federal Laws No. 24 of 1981, No. 15 of 1985 and No. 12 of 1986
Nothing on this page (or website for that matter) should be taken as proper, improper, or any other sort of legal advice or interpretation of UAE law. It is only our opinion or understanding of rules, regulations, and procedures in the UAE. You should consult a lawyer and/or the UAE labour department for professional and/or official information. Or at least read the UAE Labour Law yourself, and ignore anything we say, especially if you don't think it agrees with the law.

It is against the labour law in the UAE for recruitment agents and companies to charge job candidates and employees any fees for any part of the recruitment process or residence visa and work permit application. Many still try, and that should set off warning bells regarding the nature of the employer. Within the UAE, they can be reported to the UAE Ministry of Labour who may or may not do anything about it. Either way, job applicants are likely to be better off moving on to another recruitment agent and/or employer who respects the law.

Treat all information on this page as unconfirmed unless directly obtained from an official source (UAE Ministry of Labour for example) as there are media reports with conflicting information. As is common in the UAE, when there are significant changes in the law, there is usually a period of confusion while:

the authorities try to figure out if what they were reported to have said is what they thought they meant to say,
if the result is really what they wanted,
the media, citizens, and expat residents try to figure out what is really going on,
and targeted groups and organisations try to figure out how to get away with what they were doing before any shakeup, or how much wasta they need to get around any new rules.
Federal Labour Law Number 8 covers most of the essential rules and regulations you need to know with respect to salaries, termination, gratuity etc. It is (or was) available in English online at the UAE Ministry of Labour (MOL) website and in bookshops, and is worth familiarising yourself with.

You will probably hear many people complain that the employment contract is not worth the paper it's written on. Certainly there are people who've had an unpleasant job experience somewhere where things did not seem to go according to what they understood from their contract. Or worse. To minimise the risk of problems, keep in mind the following points.

Legally, only the Arabic version of a contract is valid in the UAE.
Having a written contract is at least something. A verbal contract is worth much less.
You should read your contract carefully before accepting a position and resolve any questions or issues before signing it. Make sure you have a written copy of any changes negotiated, or a revised contract. That's important. If an issue is unresolved before signing a contract, expect it to stay that way no matter what you are told.
You should be given an English version. Consider carefully the implications of what you are doing if you sign a contract in Arabic without understanding it.
Alarm bells should go off if a company will not send you a copy of the contract before you arrive, or they ask you to sign what appears to be a different contract when you do arrive.
If you do have a problem with your employer and want a legal opinion, there are many lawyers available (who charge a fee of course). See a list of possible lawyers in UAE to try.
It is possible that you end up in a situation where it is difficult to resolve things even if the law is apparently on your side. You can expect that the one with the most wasta (influence, power) will win, in which case, put your tail between your legs and hope the door doesn't hit you on your way out.
Your embassy might be able to help by providing you a list of lawyers to contact.
Most jobs in Dubai have a probationary period of between one month and one year. During this time you can be dismissed without notice and are not entitled to any end of service benefits. It is not clear if this works both ways i.e. you can resign without notice. Some say the law says no, but people have successfully resigned from their jobs at short notice during probation.

The UAE Labour Law does not cover certain job categories (maids and other domestic workers, federal and government employees, agricultural workers) which seems to mean that people employed in those sorts of jobs have few, if any, rights. For example no gratuity payments, unless something is specified in a contract (but even then it sometimes seems as if a contract is not worth the paper it's written on). The following worker categories are exempted:

Employees of the Federal Government and of governmental departments of the emirates of the Federation, employees of municipalities, other employees of federal and local public authorities and corporations, as well as employees who are recruited against federal and local governmental projects.
Members of the armed forces, police and security.
Domestic servants employed in private households, and the like.
Farming and grazing workers, other than those working in agricultural establishments that process their own products, and those who are permanently employed to operate or repair mechanical equipment required for agricultural work.