UAE: 6 things prohibited under new Emiratisation resolution
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) has issued a decision regarding compliance with Emiratisation regulations in the private sector. The Ministerial Resolution No. 663 of 2022 stipulates controls for compliance with the Emiratisation systems, job advertisements, and employer obligations when hiring a UAE national, and in return, enabling the national to perform his/her work and obligations.
This comes as there are just 2 weeks remaining before the deadline for companies to meet the mandatory target of employing Emiratis in at least 2 per cent of skilled roles, as part of the Emirati Competitiveness Council (Nafis).
The regulations of recruitment and the responsibilities of employers while following Nafis are as follows:
- When advertising for Emiratisation jobs, establishments should not refer to the government’s Emiratisation policies or their benefits, unless they have obtained prior permission from MoHRE.
- Misleading advertising regarding roles or work opportunities which do not exist is, and jobs for unskilled positions, are prohibited.
- The inclusion of government subsidy benefits and incentives related to Emiratis in the private sector in advertisements is also prohibited.
- Business owners must support Emiratis to perform their duties by providing appropriate workplaces and tools, as well as by offering them adequate on-the-job training and skills.
- Business owners are prohibited from carrying out any deductions in Emiratis’ salaries under the pretext of benefiting from the government’s support programme.
- Payment of lower salaries to Emirati employees, in comparison to his/her counterparts, is considered a circumvention of the legislation on Emiratisation.
- Employers must obtain a work licence for Emirati employees from the ministry. There must be a contract in place for the job and salaries must be based on the regulation.
- Employees must be registered in the pension and social insurance programmes, as per the legislation, within a month from the date of issuance of his/her work permit. A monthly contribution must be paid for them.
- An employer must also cancel the Emirati’s work permit as soon as the contractual relationship is terminated, and report any change to the employment contract in a way that affects the conditions related to the benefits of the Nafis program.
- It is also forbidden to finalise a work contract with the objective to circumvent the laws and ministerial resolutions that regulate the work of Emiratis in the private sector aimed at unlawfully benefiting from the government support systems and incentives related to the employment of UAE nationals.
The decision also specifies the obligations of Emiratis who will be joining the private sector:
- They must adhere to the decrees, laws and decisions related to Nafis.
- Everything about the role and its responsibilities must be stipulated in the work contract, and MoHRE must be informed if there is any conduct that goes against this.
The ministerial resolution defines fake Emiratisation as a forged employment of a UAE national by issuing a work permit under his/her name and registering the employee in the facility for a purpose other than the intended purpose of the permit.
The resolution also defines the violating establishment as one that has proven to not comply with the conditions of the resolution, with an intention of benefiting from the government support and incentives related to the employment of UAE nationals.
It also defines the violating beneficiary as an Emirati who is proven to not adhere to the conditions of the Emiratisation resolutions with an intention to benefit by violating the contractual relationship.
