Disciplinary penalties

As per Article 39 of the Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations in the Private Sector, the ‘UAE Labour Law’, the disciplinary penalties that may be applied by an employer or his/her representative on employees include:

1. a written notice
2. a written warning
3. deduction of wages of not less than five days per month
4. suspension without pay for a period not exceeding 14 days
5. deprivation from the periodic bonus, for a period not exceeding one year, in establishments containing a system for such bonuses
6. deprivation from promotion, for a period not exceeding two years, in establishments applying a system for such promotion
7. deprivation of promotion at the establishments having a promotion system for a period not exceeding two years
8. termination of service while preserving the employees’ right to the end of service benefits.

Rules for imposing disciplinary sanctions

Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on the Implementation Regulation of Federal Decree law No. 33 of 2021 (PDF, 652 KB), spells out the rules for imposing disciplinary sanctions on the employees as follows:

• Disciplinary sanctions must take into account, the gravity and seriousness of the violation committed, in accordance with the criteria listed in the Article 24 of the resolution above.
• The employer must draw up a schedule of penalties clarifying each of the disciplinary sanctions set out in Article 39 of the UAE Labour Law.
• The employer may impose sanctions on the employee only after completely investigating the matter and hearing the employee.
• The employer may not punish an employee for his/her offence after 30 days since discovering the same. And, no disciplinary sanction may be imposed after 60 days from the date of finishing the investigation of the offence of which the employee is found guilty.
• The employee has the right to file a grievance with the department concerned in his/her company against any penalty imposed on him/her and must be notified of its outcome by the employer.

Rules regarding the organisation of work

Article 14 of the above resolution provides that employers hiring 50 employees or more have to set rules regarding the organisation of work, including work instructions, penalties, promotions and rewards, and the procedures for terminating the employment relationship. The employer must inform the employees of the regulations stipulated in this Article 14 by any available means, and in a language they understand.

These rules must:

• must not contradict the provisions of the UAE Labour Law, and its Executive Regulations
• include:

• the regulation of penalties that may be imposed on violating employees and the terms and conditions for imposing these penalties
• the daily working hours, the weekly rest days, the official holidays and the necessary measures and precautions to be taken to avoid work injuries and fire hazards
• the criteria and rules related to promotions and rewards.

Additional rules for disciplinary sanctions in the UAE Labour Law

According to Article 41 of the Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations in the Private Sector, the ‘UAE Labour Law’,

• No disciplinary sanction may be imposed on the employee for an act perpetrated outside the work place, unless such act is connected to the work.
• It is not permissible to impose more than one disciplinary sanction for a single violation.

Temporary suspension of the employee

According to Article 40 the ‘UAE Labour Law’, the employee may be suspended from work temporarily

if the employee is charged with deliberate commission of a crime against life, property, honour, honesty or of carrying out a strike. The suspension shall begin since notification of the incident to the competent authorities until a decision is issued.

The employee shall not be entitled to his/her wages during the suspension period. If he/she is cleared of the accusation of the crime, or if it is decided to not prosecute him/her, he/she shall be reinstated and paid the full wages for the suspension period.

However, if the employer wants to conduct a disciplinary investigation, he/she may suspend the employee temporarily for a maximum period of 30 days. During the suspension, the employee will be entitled for a half of his/her wage. If no case was established against the employee, then the employer will have to pay him/her the wage in full for the suspension period.