New work permits for some employees in UAE: Remote, hybrid models announced

Last year a new labour law was approved; it introduced flexible work patterns, in order to reduce operational costs and increase productivity of employees

Ruqayya Al Qaydi

Published: Wed 7 Jun 2023, 12:45 PM

Last updated: Wed 7 Jun 2023, 10:32 PM

UAE's government has introduced four new work permits for federal employees in the country.

These are:

On-site work, which includes working from the headquarters or office
Remote work within the country
Intensive working hours, with a 'compressed workweek' that has longer daily working hours
Hybrid work, which combines on-site and remote work

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The UAE last year approved the new labour law which introduced these flexible work patterns, in order to reduce operational costs and increase productivity of employees.

According to Al Bayan, the executive regulations indicated that appointments in federal entities are made according to one of the following employment patterns:

Full-time employment: Working for a single federal entity during the official working hours on all working days.

Part-time employment: Working for a federal entity for a specific number of working hours or days.

Temporary employment: Working full-time during the daily working hours on all working days but within a temporary contract period. This type of employment is intended for executing work that has a specific duration or is a self-contained task that ends upon completion, with a duration of less than one year.

Flexible work: Working for a federal entity with the possibility of changing working hours or days based on workload and operational economic variables within the workplace.

The new regulations have defined general guidelines for contracting. The maximum contract duration for any employment pattern, except for temporary contracts, is three years renewable based on the employee's performance. Temporary contracts have a duration of less than one year. The actual contract duration is determined by the employer.

The regulations also emphasise that priority in appointments is given to citizens of the country for any vacant positions in federal entities. Non-citizens may be appointed if there are no candidates who meet the requirements of the vacant position. The regulations also allow the appointment of retired military and civilian personnel who are citizens of the country in the Federal Government.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has issued 12 types of work permits from February 2, 2022.

These work permit types include student training, employment permit, and work permit for citizens and children from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, that allows establishments registered with the ministry to employ citizens or people from the GCC.

A work permit can also be granted to Golden Visa holders upon the request of an entity registered with the ministry to employ a worker who holds this visa. A trainee national work permit can also be granted to establishments registered with the ministry that wishes to train citizens with approved scientific qualifications.

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