UAE Bosses Warned to Follow Employee Rules or Pay Huge Fines
The UAE government comes to the rescue of workers grappling with the short end of the stick.
It seems that the world over, employers of top companies are able to dodge the rules and get away with not paying their employees. One needn’t look further than India’s fraudulent Vijay Mallya who is enjoying exile in the U.K. or even a certain U.S. Presidential nominee Donald Trump who hasn’t paid construction workers whom he owes big monies to. However, such tricks of the trade cannot be played in the UAE, officials of the Gulf country have made clear.
Indeed, bosses of local firms that try to beat the system with unfair practices could face fines between AED 50,000 and AED 200,000 (USD 13,500 and USD 55,000). Yes, in a move to give more power to the exploited worker, authorities will ensure that errant honchos will have to cough up these hefty sums for indulging in any of the following underhand methods:
1) Engaging an employee without first attaining a work permit from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE).
2) Contracting an employee and then leaving him or her bereft of work.
3) Making illegal use of work permits, i.e., for reasons other than they are issued for.
4) Shutting shop without providing the concerned employee with all benefits and entitlements.
5) Signing on an under-age/juvenile employee.
Yes, by enforcing a Federal Decree Law with the above safeguards, the UAE government is sending a message that it will not tolerate foul play or exploitation in contravention of the above provisions. What’s more, MoHRE’s employment inspectors who are assigned with examining an accused employer’s firm have been empowered with certain licenses, demands and warrants to carry out their work efficiently. The financial penalties for faulty bosses have also been specified in Articles 58 and 63 of the UAE Employment Law. So, lawyers who defend these erroneous big wigs had better take heed and revise their “tactics”.
