The new Labour Code protects workers against discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, national origin, social origin and disability. Neither pregnancy nor maternity are on the list of protected characteristics; However, an employer is prohibited from terminating an employee`s employment relationship (or threatening to terminate an employee`s employment) because she is pregnant or on maternity leave. For employees on permanent contracts, minimum notice periods of: An additional period of 100 days of unpaid leave was available for employees suffering from an illness caused by pregnancy or childbirth. You may want to know: How is tipping calculated under the UAE`s new labor law? All termination requests must be paid to employees within fourteen days of the termination date. Before the new law, there was no explicit deadline. The new law protects workers from bullying and sexual harassment in the workplace. In particular, Article 14 prohibits “external harassment, bullying or verbal, physical or psychological abuse” against an employee. For employment law matters, please contact HHS Lawyers and Legal Advisors Top Employment Lawyers in the UAE team. All employees have the same entitlements, but some of them can be prorated. The new Labour Code undoubtedly takes into account the requirements of the best standards of employment practice. It aims to support the best industrial progress and efficiency in the labour market. The new Labour Code is an important step in safeguarding the interests of employees and employers in a balanced way. All employees must sign a standard contract registered by MoHRE (or a relevant free zone).

Additional enterprise agreement with optional additional clauses. Article 13 of the new law sets out a number of obligations of the employer, including the obligation of employers to comply with internal labour rules. No further information will be provided. Therefore, it is expected that future implementing regulations will set the framework and provide additional details on this requirement. “All private sector workers and employers in the UAE, on land and in the free zones are subject to the new law, with the exception of those in DIFC and ADGM, which have their own labour laws,” said Dr Elhais. Article 44 of the new Labour Code of the United Arab Emirates regulates the immediate dismissal of workers without cause. It lists ten (10) grounds for terminating an employee without notice from the employer, which are as follows: The law reduces employees` right to care breaks from eighteen months to six months from the date of delivery. The workers further extended the unpaid leave after exhausting maternity leave due to pregnancy-related illness, but the entitlement was reduced from 100 days to forty-five days.

The need to apply the highest standards in employment practice is taken into account by the new Labour Code. Its objective is to promote the most advanced industrial progress and the efficiency of the labour market. The new Labour Code marks a turning point in ensuring a balance between the interests of workers and employers. Changes to employment law are quite significant and require changes to existing employment contracts as well as changes to policies and procedures regarding future agreements with new employees. The UAE government plans to issue implementing regulations to provide additional guidance on the new laws. This is the most important change and obliges employers to amend existing employment contracts (if they are not already fixed-term). The employer must provide all employees with fixed-term employment contracts of up to three years. Contract terms may be shorter if agreed. There is no maximum number of fixed-term contracts that employers can conclude consecutively. Employers have until February 2023 to convert all employees to fixed-term contracts. All employees must have a fixed-term employment contract, which may not exceed three years.

Contracts can be renewed and each renewal is included in the total service period. The transition to fixed-term contracts must be completed by February 1, 2023. Each party may terminate a fixed-term contract individually, provided that this respects the legal consequences of early termination. In the case of contracts of indefinite duration, an employment relationship is terminated if the employer and the employee mutually agree to terminate the contract or if one of the parties decides to terminate the contract, provided that the terminating party complies with the legal termination obligations and continues to comply with its obligations.