Understanding your employee rights is a very important part of living and working in the UAE. Below is the labour law, as published by the UAE Ministry of Labour, with regards to individual employment contracts.
Disclaimer: The following text comes from the UAE Ministry of Labour’s UAE Labour Law.
Individual employment contracts
Article 35
Subject to the provisions of Article 2, the employment contract shall be written in duplicate, one copy handed to the worker, and the other to the employer. Should there not be a written contract, all conditions thereof may be established by all legal means of evidence.
Article 36
The employment contract shall determine in particular the date of conclusion thereof, the date of commencement of work, the type, location and duration thereof, should it be of a determined period, as well as the amount of the wage.
Article 37
As amended by Federal Law no. 12 dated 29/10/1986:
The worker may be employed for a probation period not exceeding six months where the employer may terminate the services of the worker without notification or end of service gratuity. The worker may not be employed by the same employer for more than one probation period. Should the worker successfully completes the probation period and pursues in his job, the said period shall be deemed as a part of the service period.
Article 38
The employment contract shall be for a determined or an undetermined term. Should it be for a determined term, it may not exceed four years. Such contract may be renewed by mutual agreement of the parties for one or more similar or shorter terms.
Should the contract be renewed, the new term(s) shall be deemed an extension of the original term and shall be added thereto upon the calculation of the total service period of the worker.
Article 39
The employment contract shall be deemed of an undetermined term since the establishment thereof in any of the following cases:
1 - If it is not made in writing.
2 - If it is concluded for an undetermined term.
3 - If it is made in writing and concluded for a determined term , and the parties continue to apply it after the expiry thereof without a written agreement between them.
4 - If it is concluded for a specific job with undetermined term, or which is recurrent by nature, and the contract continues after the completion of the agreed job.
Article 40
Should the parties pursue the application of the contract after the expiry of the original period thereof or the end of the agreed job without an explicit agreement, the original contract shall be deemed implicitly extended under the same conditions mentioned therein with the exception of the term.
Article 41
Should the employer subcontract a third party for the performance of any of the original tasks or a part thereof, the latter shall be solely liable for the rights of the workers thereof carrying out such subcontracted task in pursuance of the provisions hereof.
Source UAE Ministry of Labour
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Gulf News is not responsible for any amendments made to the UAE Labour Law. All labour disputes must go through the Ministry of Labour. This article simply quotes the UAE MOL.
