Dubai: Did you just get hired for a new job, or received a job offer? Before you go on to sign your employment contract, it is important to understand the details of your work contract and what it should include to ensure that it is adhering to the UAE’s Labour Law and your rights as a worker are being upheld.
Following the implementation of the new UAE Labour Law in February this year, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) has issued several Ministerial Resolutions or decrees, which provide further details on the various situations and special conditions related to the implementation of the law.
Cabinet Resolution No. (1) Of 2022 issued by MOHRE, for example, provides details on the implementation of the new UAE Labour Law - Federal Decree-Law No. (33) Of 2021.
Article 10 of this resolution, outlines how a work contract is structured and the necessary information it should include, and further elaborates on the new three-year employment contracts, which will come into effect with the new law.
As per Article 10 of the Cabinet Resolution, your contract should include the following details:
- The name and address of the employer.
- The name, nationality and date of birth of the worker.
- Proof of his identity, his qualification, the job or occupation.
- The date of work commencement, the workplace.
- The working hours.
- The rest days.
- The probationary period, if any.
- The term of the contract.
- The wage agreed upon including the benefits and allowances.
- The annual leave entitlements, the notice period.
- The procedures for terminating the employment contract and any other data determined by the Ministry in order to regulate the relationship between both parties.
Can I negotiate my work contract?
The Cabinet Resolution states: “The worker and the employer may agree to introduce new clauses to the approved contract forms, provided that they are in agreement with the provisions of the Decree-Law, this Resolution and the Legal Regulations.”
Article 10 further goes on to regulate how an employee can change their work type in their contract:
As per Clause 3 of Article 10, the contract may be changed from one work type to another subject to the following:
a) Approval of both the worker and the employer.
b) Payment of all the entitlements arising from the original contract.
c) Compliance with the procedures as set out by the Ministry.
Once you have agreed upon the work type, the employer would need to use the relevant contract forms from the Ministry's systems. The different work types include:
- Full-time employment contract.
- Part-time employment contract.
- Temporary work contract.
- Flexible work contract.
- Remote work contract.
- Job sharing contract.
- Any other forms of employment contract determined by resolution of the Ministry in accordance with
- The employment types and workers’ classification approved by the Cabinet.
