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U.A.E, FEDERAL LAW NO 8, FOR 1980 ON REGULATION OF LABOUR RELATIONS


UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS 

FEDERAL LAW NO 8, FOR 1980,ON REGULATION OF LABOUR RELATIONS We, Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates;

After having reference to the Constitution;

And to Law No. 1 for 1972, on the functions of the Ministries and the powers of the Ministers, and amending laws thereof;

And based on the submission of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, the approval of the Council of Ministers and the Federal National Council, and ratification by the Supreme Council; 

ISSUE THE FOLLOWING LAW

 CHAPTER I     DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS


1.1.    Definitions
2. 2.      Article 1

 For the purpose of this law, thefollowing terms   and expressions shall have the meaningsherein assigned to them, unless the context requiresotherwise:   
 

 

Employer:


Any natural or legal person employing one or moreworkers in return for any kind of wage.  
 
 


Worker:
 


Any male or female working, for wage of any kind, in the service or under the management or control of an employer, albeit out of his sight. This term applies also tolabourers and employees who are in an employer’s service and are governed by the provisions of this Law.
 
 


Firm:

 

Any economic, technical, industrial or commercial unit where personnel are employed and whose objective is to produce or market commodities or to provide services of any kind.
 
 


Employment Contract:
 

Any agreement, for a definite or indefinite term, concluded between an employer and an employee,whereby the latter undertakes to work in the employer'sservice and under his management and control, in return for a certainwage that the employer undertakes to pay.
 


Work:
 


Any human effort- intellectual, technical or physical- exerted in return for wage, irrespective of whether such work is permanent or temporary; 
 
 


Temporary work:
 

An assignment that has to be carried out within a specified period of time.

 


Agricultural work:
 

Work involving  ploughing, cultivation, harvesting, or breeding of cattle,poultry, silkworms, bees and the like.
 


Continuous service:
 

An uninterrupted service with the same employer or his legal successor, from the service commencement date.
 


Wage:



 

Any consideration, in cash or in kind, given to a worker, in return for his service under an employment contract, whether on yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, hourly, piece meal, output orcommission basis The wage shall include the cost of living allowance. It shall also include any grant given to a worker as a reward for his honesty or efficiency, provided such amounts are stipulated in the employment contract or inthe firm’s internal regulations or are being so customarilygranted thatthe firm workers regard them as part of theirwage and not as donations.
 


Basic wage:
 

The wage specified in a valid employment contract, exclusive of any allowances whatsoever.
 


Occupational injury:


 

Any of the work-related diseases listed in the schedule attached hereto or any other injurysustained by a worker during and by reason of carrying out his duties. Any accident sustained by a worker on his way to or back from work shall be considered an occupational injury, provided that the journey to and from work is made without any break, lingering or diversion from the normal route.
 
 


Labour Department:

 

The branches of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairsthat are in charge of Labour affairs in the emiratesof the Federation.
 

2. General Provisions

Article   2
Arabic shall be the language to be used in all records, contracts, files, data, etc. provided for in this Law or in any orders or regulations issued in implementation thereof. Arabic shall also be used in instructions and circulars issued to employees by their employer. Where the employer besides Arabic uses a foreign language, the Arabic version shall prevail.

Article 3
The provisions of this Law shall not apply to the followingcategories:

   a. Employees of the FederalGovernment and of governmental departments of the emirates of the Federation, employees ofmunicipalities, other employees offederal and local public authorities and corporations, as well as employees who are recruited against federal and local governmental projects.

   b.  Members of the armed forces, police and security.

    c.  Domestic servants employed in private households, and the like.

d.      d.   Farming and grazing workers, other than those working in agricultural establishments that process their own products, and those who are permanently employed to operate or repair mechanical equipment required for agricultural work. 

Article   4
Any payments due to an employee or hisbeneficiaries hereunder shall constitute a first priority charge onall the employer's moveable and immovable property, and shallbe paid immediately upon settlement of any legal expenses, sums due to thepublic treasury and Sharia's alimony awarded under IslamicLaw to the wife and children.

Article   5
Actions initiated by employees or their beneficiaries underthis Law shall be exempt from court fees at all stages oflitigation and execution, and shall be dealt with in anexpeditious manner. Upon non-admission or dismissal of a case, the court may order the plaintiff to payall or part of the expenses.

Article 6
Without prejudice to the rules provided for under this Law concerning collective Labour disputes, if the employer, the worker or any beneficiary thereof disputes any of the rights provided for any of them under this Law, he shall file an application to the competent Labour Department, which shall summon both parties and take whatever action it deems necessary to settle the dispute amicably.

If no such amicable settlement is reached, the said Department shall, within two weeks from the date of application, refer the dispute to the competent court under a memorandum containing a summary of the dispute, thearguments of both parties, and the Department’s comments. The court shall, withinthree days from date of receiving the application, fix a hearing date and notify the parties accordingly. The court may summon a representative of the Labour Department to explain the content of the memorandum submitted by it.

In all cases, no claim for any of the rights provided for in this Law shall be heard if brought to court afterthe lapse of one year from the date of accrual, nor shall any claim be admitted if the procedures stated in this Article are not complied with.

Article 7
Any conditions contrary to the provisions of this Law,albeit precedent to the date of effectiveness, shall be nulland void unless they are more advantageous to the worker.

Article 8
The periods and dates referred to herein shall becalculated according to the Gregorian calendar. For thepurpose of this Law, a calendar year is regarded as 365 days, and a calendar month as 30 days, unlessotherwise specified in the employment contract.
 

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