Employment Law
for UAE Employers

✓ Contract terms and notice — Either party may terminate for a legitimate reason with written notice of not less than 30 days and not more than 90 days, as agreed in the contract. The notice period must be the same for both parties unless the difference favours the worker.

✓ Probation, once only — Probation runs for a maximum of 6 months from commencement. A worker cannot be placed on probation twice with the same employer, and probation counts towards the service term once passed.

✓ The contract lives through notice — The contract stays valid through the notice period. The worker is paid in full and works if required. Where the employer terminates, the worker may take one unpaid working day per week to job-hunt, on 3 days' prior notice.

✓ Leave and health fitness — An employer may not terminate for lack of health fitness before the worker has used accrued leave, and any agreement otherwise is void. The detail on annual leave, sick leave, maternity and overtime sits in the Implementing Regulation, which is outside the scope of this page.

✓ Final settlement in 14 days — All outstanding wages, entitlements and gratuity must be paid within 14 days of contract termination. Failure to give notice creates a notice period allowance equal to the wage for the full or remaining notice period, payable even where no damage was caused.

✓ Company changes and transfers — Employment contracts survive a change in the establishment's form or legal status, and the new employer inherits them. A worker may move to another employer on contract expiry under the Implementing Regulation's conditions.

✓ Termination without cause — Either party may terminate for any legitimate reason with written notice of 30 to 90 days. Wages run through the notice period, gratuity is due, and the settlement is paid within 14 days. The parties may agree to waive or shorten notice while preserving the worker's rights.

✓ Dismissal without notice, Article 44 — Permitted only after a written investigation, with a written and justified decision handed to the worker. The grounds include impersonation or forged documents, gross physical loss or admitted deliberate damage, breach of posted safety instructions, failing basic contractual duties after a written investigation and two warnings of dismissal, disclosing a work secret, being drunk or under narcotics at work, assault by word or action, exploiting the position for personal gain, and joining another establishment without following the rules.

✓ Absence and reporting duties — Absence without legitimate reason for more than 20 intermittent days in a year, or more than 7 consecutive days, is an Article 44 ground. Where a mistake causes gross physical loss, the employer must inform MOHRE within 7 working days of becoming aware. For absconding, the employer must notify MOHRE, and the worker gets no new work permit for one year.

✓ Procedure decides the outcome — No written investigation and no written justified decision means no valid Article 44 dismissal. The employer then pays notice and gratuity anyway, plus exposure under Article 47. Never draft a dismissal without a written investigation where Article 44 is relied on.

✓ Unlawful termination, Article 47 — Termination is unlawful where it follows the worker filing a serious MOHRE complaint or a lawsuit that is proven valid. The court sets fair compensation, capped at 3 months' wage on the last wage, in addition to notice allowance and end-of-service benefits. Never terminate an employee for filing a MOHRE complaint.

✓ MOHRE, then the courts — A dispute is filed with MOHRE, which reviews it and attempts an amicable settlement. MOHRE issues a final judgment where the claim is AED 50,000 or less, or at any value where a party does not comply with an amicable settlement decision, and the decision is annotated with execution force. Larger or unresolved claims go to the competent court with a MOHRE memorandum. A claim cannot be heard more than one year after the right fell due.