Up to Dh200,000 fine in UAE: How employees can file case against employer for unfair practices

Question: I work for a mainland company in the UAE and I am planning to file a labour case against my employer for unfair practices. Can you walk me through the procedure and process on how it works?

Answer: Generally, unfair practices by employers in the UAE may include, but are not limited to, employing an employee without obtaining a work permit from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), recruiting an employee and not providing work, illegal use of work permits, winding up an entity without following relevant procedures, failing to pay employees their end-of-service benefits, and recruiting juveniles, all of which are not in accordance to the provisions of Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relations.

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The mentioned unfair practices may result in financial penalties for an employer ranging from Dh50,000 to Dh200,000 as stated in Article 60 of the UAE Employment Law, which states, “Shall be sentenced to a fine of no less than Dh50,000 and no more than Dh200,000, whoever:

1. Employs an employee who has not obtained a permit to work for him.

2. Recruits or employs an employee, and left him without work.

3. Uses work permits for purposes other than those for which they are issued.

4. Closes, or ceases the activity, of an establishment without taking the procedures for settlement of employees' entitlements, in violation of the provision of this decree Law, its Executive Regulations and implementing resolutions.

5. Employs a juvenile in violation of the provisions hereof.

6. Agrees to the employment of a juvenile in violation of the provisions of this Decree-law in respect of the juvenile's parent or guardian."

Furthermore, financial penalties for other unfair practices by an employer are mentioned in Article 58 to Article 63 of the UAE Employment Law.

A MoHRE inspector, during the inspection of an entity in the UAE, may identify the violations of an entity and may report the same to MoHRE and/or any other competent authority in the UAE. This is in accordance with Article 33(2) of the Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on the Implementation of Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 Regarding the Regulation of Employment Relations, which states, “Subject to the provisions of Article 57 of the Decree-Law:

Incidents committed in violation of the provisions of the Decree-Law, this Resolution and the Legal Regulations shall be reported pursuant to the following procedures:

a. If during an inspection the inspector verifies the existence of a violation of the Decree-Law or the regulations or resolutions issued in implementation thereof, he shall draw up a report to establish the violation and shall submit the report to the competent authority to take the necessary actions against the violator.

b. The employment inspector may, when needed, request competent administrative or security authorities to provide necessary assistance.

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