The UAE is right to relax its job market rules to allow people to find new jobs more easily. It is to the benefit of the country that the employee is able to move easily, as the economy will continue to benefit from his or her skills, and the family will stay in the country, and housing also continues without a break.
Ending the six-month ban, and allowing some categories of people to move before two years, means that the country's skilled workforce will be able to move to other employers without leaving the UAE, which encourages more social and business continuity, and more competition in the workplace.
Even if the economy as a whole benefits from the new rules, there may well be discomfort to some employers, particularly those who are using the threat of a six-month ban to keep their employees in their present jobs. But if a company has to use such legal threats to keep its workforce in place, something is wrong.
Decent salaries, pride in the job, and professional achievement are much better motivators than the threat of legal action if someone leaves the company.
The new rules may well cause some fluctuation in salaries, as individuals will be better able to actively hunt for better offers, but that normal action of the free market has the great benefit that the more able employees are able to find the more go-ahead employers, and the economy will benefit from the new flexibility.
It is also important that the new rules will allow more people to work on a part-time basis, as the plan recognises a way to employ temporary and part-time workers, which has been a demand from many employers. The changes are a welcome development, and hopefully the start of more liberalisation in the labour market.