General Services UAE

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affair enforces labour law in the United Arab Emirates which covers various aspects of the relationship between an employer and its employees. These labour laws are applicable all across the country and the employees can be the nationals of the UAE or expatriates. Application and implementation of the labour laws are essentials to maintain stability and integrity in the society. In the UAE, there is no concept of trade union to protect the labour rights. All the labour issues are directly addressed to the Ministry and if there is no chance of finding any amicable solution, the labour matters are forwarded to the labour courts in the UAE.

Labour relations consultants and general services are helpful to resolve any labour dispute. The labour relation consultants in the United Arab Emirates represent the client lawfully whether the client is an employer or an employee. The labour relation consultants ensure compliance of the requirements of labour law at various stages of the labour dispute resolution. They are legal professionals who can effectively handle the cases of labour issues. It is extremely difficult in the UAE to resolve labour issues and it requires high level of expertise. To handle the complex issues related to labour matters, a team of labour relation consultants who are skilled and have the right expertise are able to resolve the problems.

There are a number of issues that labour relations consultants and general services can assist the client with, such as employment contract, termination of employment contract, women employment issues, juvenile employment issues, due diligence, safety of workers, protection of employees, labour inspections and penalties, maintenance of record and file, protection of goodwill, wage issues, drafting employment contracts, NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement), NCA (Non-Competition Agreement), matters related to working hours and leaves, unfair dismissal, wrong dismissal, maternity leave, codes of discipline, unpaid salary, ending service benefits, accidents during employment, victimisation, discrimination, immigration matters, medical care, social care and other general services.   

The labour relations consultants and general services are required since the labour law is changing and developing. Dealing with labour disputes between employer and employee is a complicated matter that keeps into accounts the rights and responsibilities of both the employer and employee. Only the advice from legal experts and complete legal assistance can be helpful in resolving these matters efficiently. The services of labour relation consultants comprise of solving a number of issues between the employer and employees such as negotiating the employment agreement, defending wrongful terminations, drafting the employment manuals and others. Their lawyers are professional and experienced in dealing with labour related issues. The labour relation consultants can provide advice on disciplinary matters and grievances, review the employment contracts or HR policies of the companies and represent the clients in the labour court.

Nearly 90% of labour court cases are related to late wages, wrongful termination and end of term benefits while work related injuries are rare in the UAE. These cases are mostly filed in the civil court. When the case is filed with the Ministry of Labour, both the parties are called in the labour relations department. Then the legal consultants try to resolve the matter amicably. If either of the parties refuses to reconcile or does not appear, the case is then referred to labour court. For the dispute resolution, the aim is to reduce the cost involved and to avoid unnecessary litigation. The department tries best to reconcile dispute between the parties but in case the efforts are unsuccessful, the process of litigation starts. Legal proceedings are held in Arabic language. The non-Arabic litigants hire local counsel to represent them in the court. In this whole process, labour relation consultants can play a key role in assisting the clients properly until the dispute is resolved.