The UAE has significantly changed the previous labor law to align with modern employment and global standards. The new labor law 2024 was ushered in on February 2, 2022, in Federal Law No 8. The new law aims to bring a balanced work environment along with safeguarding the worker’s rights and financial growth. The new law covers several topics including employee working hours, employee contracts, leave approvals, notice periods, insurance schemes, and many more.
In this article, we will provide you with a complete understanding of and changes in the New UAE Labor Law of 2024.
Some of the Important Pointer in the New UAE Labor Law
The New UAE Labor Law has several changes that are incorporated to empower employees and provide flexibility in work. Detailed information about these updates is mentioned below.
Notice Period during Probation
According to the new labor law in UAE, certain changes have been made addressing the probation notice period. It says that the probationary period for the employee is for 6 months. The employer must provide 14 days prior information to the employee before termination. Also, the employees must serve 1 month’s notice period before leaving the organization and 14 days’ notice if he is leaving the UAE. During the probation period if an employee leaves to work for another employer then the previous employer can ask for recruitment costs for the new employer.
Flexible Working Time
Earlier in the UAE, there was only employment for full-time employers. Later in 2019, part-time employment was introduced. Now, in the new law low 2024, employers can recruit all kinds of employees including remote jobs, temporary, flexible, etc.
The New UAE Labor Law also states that employees are allowed to take leave any day in a week as a rest day with the permission of the employer. Employees must take their annual leaves by the end of the year with the acceptance of both parties. The payment for the unused leaves can be calculated based on the basic salary of the employee.
Salary in times of disputes
The MOHRE by considering the financial stability of employees, includes that employer must continue to give salary to the employee for two months in times of disputes. If the dispute is not resolved between the parties in 14 days then it can be handed over to a competent court. Hence this empowers the employee during conflicts and legal issues.
The Rule for Contact Termination
The employer should provide a 30-day notice period before employee termination. The new law also extends the notice period for 90 days before termination or converting the unlimited employee contract to a fixed period. The notice period also depends on the service of the employee.
The employee can also suspend the employee, in case of organizational rule violation. The suspension came to be for 30 days on half payment until the investigation is completed. Also if the employee is found innocent then the employer must pay the remaining salary.
Salary Currency
The employers who are registered on MOHRE must pay salaries through the wages protection system. Here salaries can transferred to employees from banks that are authorized by the Central Bank of the UAE. The old law only allowed paying salaries in the UAE currency, however, the new law also allows pay in other currencies with mutual understanding of both parties.
Leave Allocations
The New UAE Labor Law says to allocate 60 days of maternity leave, full paid leaves of 45 days, and 15 days of half-pay leave. If there is a birth of a child with disabilities then a woman can take extra 30 days of paid leave and another 30 days of unpaid leave.
Under the New UAE Labor Law, employees having more than two years of service in the organization can avail of 10 days of study leave per year. This is applicable only if the employee is studying in a UAE institute. The employees can also take 1-day of unpaid leave per week during the notice period to find a new job.
According to the New UAE Labor Law employees can take 5 days of paid leave for the death of his/her spouse, and 3 days of leave for the death of a sibling, parent, kids, etc.
Workplace Discrimination
The New UAE Labor Law aims to reduce biases in the workplace. This can be based on gender, nationality, religion, etc. The law also states that both men and women should be paid equally for the same work.
The New UAE Labor Law also says employers to provide awareness sessions for employees to ensure the proper implementation of the policies and employee rights. The law also introduced penalties for the rules violation of the country they are legal notice, deprivation of promotion, etc.
Conclusion
To conclude, the United Arab Emirates is one of the global business hubs. The introduction of the new UAE Labor Law is modernizing employment policies that encourage employee development, protection, and financial stability. This reflects the UAE’s interest in attracting global business and talent. This article covers some of the significant updates of the New UAE Labor Law. For more business management articles visit Entreprenur Gulf.