Dh10,000 fine for not reporting injuries at workplaces

Abu Dhabi: A Dh10,000 fine will be imposed on companies which fail to report occupational injuries, the Ministry of Labour (MOL) announced on Wednesday.

Any work related injury, which is serious enough to cause a worker to be absent from work for three days or more, must be reported to the MOL within 24 hours of the incident.

Occupational injuries includes those during working hours or while commuting from or to a workplace, if the employee didn’t interrupt or deviate from the usual routine.

A disease caught from one of the listed occupational labour disease agendas is also considered a work related injury.

The Ministry of Labour urged private sector companies to implement occupational safety and health standards while on duty and report occupational injuries at once.

Maher Al Obed, assistant undersecretary for inspectional affairs, said; “The ministry’s keenness to provide a safe working environment for workers comes as a support to avoid occupational injuries and through the application of innovative standards for occupational safety and health in addition to taking the necessary steps against the non-complying facilities we shall reach positive outcomes.”

“Facilities that didn’t report occupational injuries, illness or deaths are violating the Cabinet decision No. 40 of 2014 which states a Dh10,000 fine per (non-reported) case, then the Ministry of Labour shall blacklist the company till they solve the offense,” he added.

Al Obed went on to say reports can be made to the ministry through a hotline 800665, or via e-mail . The worker’s name, labour card number, property number, date of the injury and a contact phone number are required for a report to be filed.

In case an injury occurs, the employer must bear the costs of treatment in addition to paying transfer expenses required for treatments until the employee is able to report back to duty or presents a clear a statement of a permanent disability.

The official said; “The ministry works diligently towards strengthening commitment to occupational safety and health measures, all through implementing educational programs for employers to motivate them to provide all the safety requirements for workers at their workplace and report all injuries a worker might face, these programmes also target workers to enlighten them about the importance of adapting to safety measures while working.”