Recognising the surge in work-from-home arrangements amid regional security concerns, the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MoHRE) published a 15-point guidance note on April 1 that codifies employers’ obligations and employees’ rights under UAE labour law when work is performed remotely. Key provisions include: maximum 48-hour work-weeks and mandatory overtime pay beyond that; one paid rest day per week; employer-funded health insurance plus wage-protection cover up to AED 20,000; and explicit prohibitions on passing recruitment costs to employees. Annual leave (30 days after one year of service), maternity, parental and sick-leave entitlements apply identically to on-site staff. For HR and mobility teams, the document offers welcome clarity. Companies must issue written remote-work contracts that define hours, duration, equipment use and performance metrics, and they retain responsibility for cancelling work permits and visas at contract end. Failure to warn or discipline employees for violations such as "logging in but not working" could compromise termination procedures. The guidance dovetails with Dubai’s tightened Remote Working Visa rules, reinforcing that the UAE intends to professionalise remote employment frameworks rather than treat them as ad-hoc crisis measures.
Source: The Times of India
