UAE keeps advancing domestic labour rights
To strengthen domestic labour rights, Decree Federal Law No. 9 for 2022 was published within this framework.
The decree law ensures the rights of all parties in a relationship, including employees, employers, and recruitment agents, in accordance with clear standards and frameworks. It covers all facets of domestic labour law.
According to the law's executive rules, the decree law addresses working hours, weekly breaks, and leave for domestic employees and upholds their right to a paid day off each week.
Working hours and leave policies are governed by executive resolutions made by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization. Additionally, the rule states that daily breaks must be a minimum of 12 hours, which must include eight working hours.
The decree law states that domestic workers have the right to compensated annual leave of at least 30 days. They are entitled to two days of leave each month, and the employer may designate the day on which the yearly leave will begin if the service length is less than a year but more than six months.
The decree law mandates that employers must pay for domestic workers' return tickets once every two years if they desire to visit home for annual leave. The employer will only pay for a one-way ticket if the two parties decide to part ways or decide not to renew their work agreement after the annual leave.
Domestic workers are entitled to the financial equivalent in the event that a work contract expires or is cancelled by any affiliated parties but they have not taken their annual leave.
The decree law confirms that domestic employees are entitled to sick leave for a maximum of 30 days throughout a contractual year, whether it is continuous or intermittent, provided that the need for the leave can be supported by a medical report issued by an authorised national health authority. The first 15 days of this leave are paid at full rate, while the next 15 days are paid at half rate.
The decree law also outlines the obligations of employers under the contract, including maintaining a suitable working environment, providing adequate living quarters for the domestic workers, providing meals and suitable clothing to enable workers to perform their duties as long as they were hired on a full-time basis and not on temporary contracts, unless otherwise agreed, and paying the wages of domestic workers in accordance with the contract.
Along with paying the necessary compensation for work injuries and occupational diseases in accordance with the compensation set in the provisions of Decree Law No. 33 for 2021 regulating labour relations and related decisions, the employer's obligations also include only hiring domestic workers who have obtained a work permit, in accordance with the provisions of the decree law and its executive regulations, as well as the resolutions issued by the ministry
The decree law upholds the right of domestic employees to switch employers in accordance with the rules and guidelines outlined in the resolution of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization and if they have completed their duties to the original employer.
An employer will also not be liable for the expenses of their worker’s return to their home country if they are working for another employer.
The decree law stipulates that the employer will inform the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation about any violations committed by a domestic worker against applicable laws.
The decree also
covers the obligations of recruitment agents, such as recruiting workers from
their home countries after informing them about the type and nature of work and
their salaries, as well as the need to provide evidence of their overall
health, psychological and professional well-being, and other conditions
determined by the executive regulations of the decree and the decisions issued
by the ministry that consider the nature of each profession.
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