Those working during Eid must be compensated

Dubai: Employees working during the Eid holidays are entitled to a leave-in-lieu and/or monetary compensation, the Ministry of Labour said.

Those required to work during public holidays must be given compensatory days off according to the number of days he or she worked during the holiday period, according to Article 81 of the UAE Labour Law. If he or she is not given leave in lieu, his employer should pay him 150 per cent of his basic wage according to the days he or she has worked.

If an official holiday, such as the Eid break, falls on a weekend, those on duty are entitled to the day’s wage, an additional 50 per cent of his/her basic wage, and a leave in lieu.

“If an employee does not want to be compensated with a day off, then the according to the labour law, the company is required to pay him that day’s wage and an additional 150 per cent of his/her basic wage,” Mohammad Ahmad Mubarak, Director of the Office of Labour Relations at the ministry, said.

Mubarak said complaints related to uncompensated worktime are rarely, if ever, filed separately. The complaints are usually listed among multiple claims an employee lodges against a company.

“We never receive isolated complaints about this matter,” he said, “Workers usually report uncompensated worktime amid other claims lodged against the company. Most of the time we get these complaints when a worker wants to end his/her employment with the company.”

Mubarak noted that after receiving a complaint, the ministry launches a thorough investigation of the concerned company. “We visit the establishment, rifle through their paperwork and check if other employees have been receiving their due payments and compensations. We then take appropriate action.”

According to the Director of Labour Relations, the ministry’s Payment Protection Programme has helped in reducing the number of such cases.

“People working during Eid and other holidays must be compensated according to the number of days he/she worked during the holiday period,” Mubarak said, “their hard work must be recognised. After all, it is thanks to their efforts that the rest of us can enjoy the holidays. ”