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UAE: Is there a law against hiring employees’ family members?

Some friends told me it would be considered a ‘conflict of interest’. Please advise

Question: My wife is qualified for a job vacancy that has come up at the firm I work. Is there a law against hiring family members of existing employees? Some friends told me it would be considered a ‘conflict of interest’. Please advise.

Response: Pursuant to your queries, the prevailing UAE employment law is silent on ‘conflict of interest’ for members of a family to work for the same employer. As the law is silent, it may be considered legal.

However, it is up to the employer to employ family members of an employee for job vacancy/ies. Therefore, if the human resource policies of your employer allow it to recruit family members of the existing employees, then your wife may be considered for the role that has come up in your firm.

Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom and India. Full details of his firm on: www.amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.