Employment Contracts and Durations

Employment Contracts and Durations

People wishing to work in the UAE are entitled to obtain an employment contract issued and attested by the Ministry of Labour and signed by the employee and the employer.

An Employment Contract, as defined by the UAE Labour Law, is any agreement, either for a limited or for an unlimited period, concluded between an employer and an employee where the employee undertakes to work for the employer and under his management or control for remuneration payable to him by the employer.

The contract should be written in Arabic and may be written in English. The employment contract should state the starting date, type of employment, location, terms and conditions, duration and the salary.

If the employment contract has not been issued from by the Ministry of Labour, the employee can prove his service with the employer by any such means of legal evidence as internal contract concluded between the two parties, appointment letter, payroll or book of attendance, if the employee has one of them.

A copy of the employment contract is kept at the Ministry of Labour (MOL) as a reference. In cases of employment disputes, or end of service, MOL refers to the archived contract copy.

Furthermore, employees and employers can electronically review the contract details by entering the employee's labour card data on the MOL website. A link to the login page is available in the “Helpful Links” column.

New Work PermitsThe Cabinet Resolution No. (25) of 2010 on the internal work permits provided by the Ministry of Labour brought about major changes in the relationship between employers and employees. It introduced several types of work permits under which a citizen or a resident can work in an establishment:

Worker transfer permit: it is the permit which allows a citizen or resident who is already working in the UAE to move from one establishment to another. 

Part-time work permit: this permit enables citizens or residents to take up jobs with fewer hours than normal working hours of full-time employees who undertake the same jobs at the establishment.

Work permit for dependants: this permit allows dependants who are sponsored by one of their family members to undertake a job.

Juvenile work permits: The permit allows citizens or residents aged between 15 years and 18 years to work in an establishment under certain conditions.

Probation PeriodThe probation period of the employee shall not exceed six months and shall not be extended for another term. The probation period is optional and the employer has the right to dismiss the employee during this period without a notice and end of service benefit. However, if the employee successfully completed the probation period and continued in service, the probation shall be calculated as part of his service.