Fines and Penalties for Breaches of the Federal Labour Law No. 33 of 2021

The provisions of Federal Labour Law No. 33 of 2021 amended the relationship between employees and employers and stipulated several penalties in the case of a law violation.

Breaches Mentioned Clearly in the New Labour Law

• Submitting wrong information or certificates to employers or authorities.
• Committing any act to prevent authorised persons from applying the law.
• Employing a worker without a work permit.
• Recruiting a worker and leaving him without work.
• Using an employee's permit for reasons other than legal ones.
• Closing a company without settling employees' rights.
• Employing an underage person contrary to the law.
• Abusing the authority's online system.

The penalty amount is based on the breach, starting from AED 5,000 up to AED 1,000,000, and penalties can be multiplied up to 10 times.

Employees Should Not Leave Without Notice or Before Completing the Notice Period

Whether an employee resigns or is terminated by the employer, it is important and mandatory to work through the complete notice period stated in the employment contract, which is capped between 30 and 90 days under the new employment law.

Employees who leave work without notifying the employer risk having their work permit cancelled for one year, meaning they will not be able to work for any other employer in the UAE during that period.

If an employee leaves before the end of the legal notice period, they will be obligated to compensate the employer with a notice period compensation equal to the salary for the unserved portion of the notice. Unless the employee receives immediate termination, they should not leave before the last day stated in the termination letter.

Employees Should Follow the Rules for Resignation

Once an employee resigns, it is important to follow the employment contract and observe the notice period stated in it, and to clearly state the date of submitting the resignation and the last working day in the resignation letter.

It is important to send the legal notice to the relevant individuals in the organisation — shareholders, managers, directors, HR managers, or the owner. Employees do not have to state a reason for resignation, and the employer has no right to reject it; sending the resignation only notifies the employer that the employee is leaving.

Leaving Work Without Notice Is Legal in Certain Cases

The employee may leave work without notice while retaining all rights at the end of service in any of the following cases:

• The employer breaches its obligations under the employment contract, the Decree-Law, or its implementing resolutions, provided the worker serves the Ministry with a 14 working-day notice before leaving, and the employer fails to rectify the breach despite being notified by the Ministry.
• It is established that the worker was subjected to assault, violence, or harassment at the workplace by the employer or its representative, provided the worker reports it to the relevant authorities and the Ministry within 5 working days of being able to do so.
• There is a serious risk threatening the worker's safety or health in the workplace, provided the employer is made aware and fails to take necessary action to eliminate it.
• The employer requests the worker to perform work substantially different from that agreed in the employment contract, without the worker's written consent, except in cases of necessity under Article 12 of the Decree-Law.

Employers Still Have the Right to Terminate With Immediate Effect in Some Cases

The employer should notify the employee of its desire to terminate and grant the notice period stated in the contract (30 to 90 days), during which work must continue as usual. If the employer wishes to terminate with immediate effect, it must pay the employee notice period compensation equal to the total salary for the notice period.

The employer may dismiss the employee without prior notice and without notice period compensation, after conducting a written investigation, in cases including false identity or forged documents, gross material loss or intentional damage to the employer's property, breach of written workplace safety instructions, repeated failure to perform main duties after warnings, disclosure of trade secrets causing loss, being under the influence of alcohol or narcotics or committing an act of moral turpitude at work, assault against the employer or colleagues, unexcused absence beyond the permitted limits, misuse of position for private gain, or joining another establishment in breach of the applicable controls.

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