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HomeWorking in UAEYour Employee Rights in The UAE: What Are You Liable For?

Your Employee Rights in The UAE: What Are You Liable For?

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It goes without saying that the UAE has been nothing less than a shelter for professionals flocking from various corners of the world. A country that has expatriates from a zillion nationalities and social backgrounds, doesn’t need a mention to vouch for its economic growth, which has been quite prominent for the past one decade.

Majorly attracted by the investment and employment opportunities in the country, the country witnesses professionals coming from every continent and building a livelihood to lead a lavish professional life. Although, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the emirates having the majority of expatriates, but recent years have seen emirates like Sharjah proliferating with a booming economy too.

However, a major to consider is the norms you’ve to stay within, while working in this exotic Arab country. Hence, given below are a few set of rights you have, while being an employee in any of the Emirati corporations.

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Accommodation
A country that harbors expats from nearly 200 different countries, makes it mandatory for every employer to provide their workers with accommodation commensurate with international labor standards. Plus, each corporation functioning within the country has to make all necessary upgrades to meet the desirable standards and provide comfortable living conditions to all of the expat workforce. In addition to this, it should also include medical equipment, facility for parking, walkaway and other utilities & amenities.

The Number of Working Hours
According to the labor law, apart from a fixed number of daily and weekly hours, there should be a mandatory mid-day break, to be given to every employee during the summer months, which begin from nearly 15th June every year.

Apart from the right to not work for more than eight hours per day, you will also be qualified to receive incentives or overtime fee, for volunteering to work for more than eight hours per day. This will be accompanied with the recruiter being liable to provide facilities that cater to the health and safety of their workforce, like medical equipment and cold water at workplace.

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You Have the Right To Switch Jobs too
UAE is a country known for providing flexible working conditions. Pertaining to the same, worker rights in the country provide you the opportunity to switch employers, within the country, without any hassle whatsoever. Once you’ve accomplished a contractual relationship with any employer and successfully fulfilled all conditions, then you are liable to freely move to any other Emirati company, in any industry.

At the same time, the Ministry of Labor in the organization has also set up legal disputes committee, to facilitate the whole process, in case there’s any discrepancy or contradiction of interest between the employer and the worker.

What all Can you Claim in Case of a Termination?
Although a sad case to happen, but termination of employment contract is a shock that leaves expat workers in the UAE flabbergasted, without any clue about the next step to be taken. However, the labor law in the country provides all expat employees with seven basic rights, in case of being sacked by their recruiter.

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• You’ll have the right to claim for your unpaid salary.
• Being a worker, you can also demand for the charges for any extra hours of work.
• You deserve all annual leaves too
• You will also get the amount pertaining to gratuity (21 days basic remuneration for every year of the first five year tenure and one month post that period).
• You will be paid the charges for the flight back to your country.
• This will also include your notice period salary
• In addition to all of these, a compensation amount, if your dismissal was termed as ‘unfair’. This will include a time period of three months generally, but might also include a longer duration, if not mentioned in the contract.

Things are numerous to enlist, but the gist lies in understanding the norms and acting within their confines. Rest, the UAE is one of the greatest countries to work in, provided that you stick to the basics.

anshumanAuthor Bio: Anshuman Kukreti is a professional writer and a keen follower of the global job market. An engineer by qualification and an artist at heart, he writes on various topics related to employment across the Gulf. Reach him @ LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.

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