Ready to give Emirati talent a try at your organization? Whether you have an urgent need to fill an open position or want to inspire creativity, hiring workers from Dubai could be an excellent choice. Emiratis are among the most educated folks in the world, they’re well-versed in the English language, and they are hard workers. And that’s not even the half of it.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking that recruiting in Dubai will be a piece of cake. If you’re going to be successful in finding good talent in the city, you’ll need to offer a stellar, compliant benefits package. Not doing so could set you up for potentially costly legal issues and lead to missed opportunities with amazing candidates.

To prevent issues like these, we urge you to learn all you can about employee benefits in Dubai. And we plan to help you in this regard. We’ll cover mandatory and supplementary employee benefits in Dubai and official labor laws in the UAE.

Dubai Labor Laws

Dubai labor laws for private employees in the city are all housed in the Federal Decree Law No. 3 of 2021, which you can find on the UAE government website. This is the main law that governs the employer/employee relationship, and it applies to UAE nationals and expatriates (every employee who works in the UAE).

In this legislation, you’ll find information on various areas of employment, including:

  • Employer obligations
  • Working hours
  • Overtime
  • Maternity leave
  • Sick leave
  • and more.

But this isn’t the only law you need to know about as an international employer of Emirates. Other labor laws in Dubai are referenced within the above law, and it could be advantageous to look at those as well. If you’re able, we strongly recommend that you reach out to a lawyer with direct experience in the international sphere of employment.

We’ll reference the labor law and other authoritative, scholarly sources to give you an idea of the labor laws and employee benefits in Dubai.

Mandatory Employee Benefits in Dubai

In Dubai, employers must provide many statutory benefits to their employees. To ensure full compliance, you’ll need to include all of them in your employee benefits package. We’ll cover these mandatory benefits below:

End-of-Service Benefits

When an employee is separated from work, they may be entitled to End-of-Service (EOS) benefits. They are mandatory for all qualifying private UAE employees and are intended to provide a financial safety net for these workers.

The amount an employee is due for gratuity depends on their contract type and how long they’ve worked for your organization. The table below shows how much you’d pay for EOS benefits:

Years of ServiceGratuity Amount
First five years21 days of basic salary for each year worked
After five years30 days of basic salary for each additional year worked

For unlimited contracts, gratuity is capped at 2 years’ salary. Employees become eligible for this benefit once they’ve made it to one year of service for the company. 

Annual Paid Leave

Annual paid leave is mandated by UAE law as well. Your employees get 30 days for each year of extended service. And if the worker has been with your company for 6 months to under a year, they get 2 days for each month they’ve worked. During annual paid leave, the worker should receive their full wage. 

Learn more about this rule in Article 29 of the UAE labor law.

Public Holiday Leave

Whenever a public holiday rolls around, you have to allow your Emirati workers to take the day off with full pay. Should a worker be required to work on a public holiday, the employer has to do one of two things:

  • Give the worker another day off to make up for the public holiday they worked.
  • Pay the worker 150% of their regular wage for work done on a holiday.

The following days are considered public holidays in Dubai:

  • January 1st – New Year’s Day
  • 29 Ramadan to 3 Shawwal 1445 AH – Eid Al Fitr (4 days)
  • 9 to 12 Dhu al Hijjah 1445 AH – Arafah Day and Eid Al Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) (4 days)
  • 1 Muharram 1446 AH – Hijri New Year (Islamic New Year)
  • 12 Rabi’ Awwal 1446 AH – Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday
  • December 2nd and December 3rd – National Day (2 days)

Multinational corporations can partner with PEOs to benefit from the diverse Canadian workforce. PEOs can help MNCs enter a saturated market, handle the HR tasks, and quickly have your business comply with the rules and regulations while also getting you a talented local workforce, all while adhering to federal and legal labor standards. 

Read more about public holiday leave in Article 28 of the UAE labor code.

Sick Leave

Should a worker fall ill or become injured (and it wasn’t due to work), they should be able to take up to 90 days of sick leave. The first 15 days would be paid in full, the next 30 days should be paid at 50%, and any remaining days should be unpaid. There’ll be no pay at all if the worker committed misconduct and is to blame for their sickness or injury.

If, after the sick leave time is up, the worker isn’t well enough to go back to work, the employer can fire them. 

Learn more in Article 31 of the UAE labor law.

Health Insurance

By law, UAE employees are required to buy health insurance plans for their workers. The plan doesn’t have to be comprehensive – a basic plan will suffice. In some parts of the UAE, workers’ plans should also include their dependents, but that’s not the case in Dubai. The plan only needs to cover the worker. 

Maternity Leave

Per the UAE labor law, female workers should be allowed to take 60 days off for maternity leave. The first 45 days of the leave are paid at 100%, and the last 15 days are paid at 50%.

If the employee isn’t ready to come back to work after the initial 60 days, they can request up to 45 additional days off. In a case like this, the worker will need to provide a medical certificate to prove they need more time off.

 If the child is born sick or with a condition that requires a constant companion, the female worker gets an additional 30 days of maternity leave with full pay and can extend it for an additional 30 days.

Once the worker returns, they are entitled to 1-2 breastfeeding breaks. Breaks should not exceed an hour in total.

Paternity Leave

Per the UAE government website, male employees get 5 working days off for paternity leave. And they can take this leave any time in the first 6 months of the baby’s life.

Working Hours Limitations

As an employer of Emirati workers, it’s critical not to exceed the maximum working hour requirement of 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week. This maximum could change at any time for different worker categories.

Learn more about working hour limitations in Article 17 of the UAE labor law.

Overtime Compensation

There will be times when an employer needs a worker to work longer hours than the previously stated hour max. The government allows up to 2 hours of overtime per day and 144 overtime hours per three weeks.

Article 19 of the UAE labor law goes into even deeper detail.

Accommodation and Transportation

Article 13 of the UAE labor law mentions that the employer has to provide proper accommodation for workers per the rules of their state of residence. And if the worker should pass away, the employer must transport the body to the employee’s family or home country.

Social Security

As an employer of Emiratis, you’re required to register your workers in the federal pension scheme so they can receive pension benefits. You’ll then need to pay regular contributions to the scheme per Federal Law No. 7 of 1999 on pensions and social security.

Supplementary Employee Benefits in Dubai

Supplementary employee benefits give employers a competitive edge when recruiting and hiring workers. If you choose the right ones, your potential employees will know without a doubt that you are a caring boss and want the best for them.

Here are some supplementary employee benefits to consider offering Emiratis:

  • An extended paternity leave, given how short the law-mandated leave is under UAE law.
  • A premium private health insurance plan with extremely good medical, dental, and vision benefits.
  • Free training and professional development programs.
  • Remote work opportunities and flexible working hours for positions that are well-suited to such an arrangement.
  • Profit sharing to enable employees to share in the company’s success.
  • Performance-based bonuses that increase based on an employee’s individual or team success.
  • Discount programs for employees who use the company’s products or services.
  • An allowance to be paid prior to vacations and other leaves.

These are just a few options to consider for your workers in Dubai.

So, there you have it – the basics of employee benefits and labor laws in Dubai. We hope you found all the information you were looking for, and we wish you the best with your global expansion plans.