Legal provisions

According to Article 5 of the UAE Labour Law, an Emirati or an expatriate resident under the age of 15 is not eligible for an employment permit. However, youths between the ages of 15 and 18 years may get a permit after Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) ensures that:

• a written consent from the parent or the legal guardian of the minor is provided
• a physical fitness certificate for the requested work, is issued by the competent medical authorities

• actual working hours do not exceed six hours per day and include one break or more
• minors are not made to work between 7pm and 7 am.

The Labour Law forbids youth from working at night in industrial enterprises and undertaking hazardous or strenuous jobs. Working overtime or on holidays is also prohibited.

Read more about the UAE’s system for employing minors in Article 4 of the Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on the Implementation of the Regulation of Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 Regarding the Regulation of Labour Relations.

The UAE is a party to the following international human rights treaties on children:

• Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (1997)
• ILO Conventions on the subjects of working hours, forced labour, labour inspections, night work for women, equal pay, the minimum age for employment and the worst forms of child labour
• The Convention against Transnational Organised Crime: the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (The Palermo Protocol)
• The Arab Charter of Human Rights.

Training and employing students

Since 2016, the UAE has issued many resolutions enabling students to work and get trained at operating establishments. The latest is Ministerial Decree No. 519 of 2018 on Regulations and Conditions of Training and Employment of Students (PDF, 250 KB).

According to this resolution, any establishment may train students aged 15 years and above, on the condition of a written contract. The contract must include:

• the areas of training
• duration of the training period
• weekly and other holidays
• the value of the bonus, if any, and any privileges granted to the trainee.

Additionally, any establishment may recruit students aged 15 years and above during their academic holidays, for maximum three consecutive months each time. An employment contract must clarify the nature of work, its duration, the wage, weekly holiday and the number of daily working hours. 

Conditions for employing or training students

In addition to the general conditions listed in Article 5 of the UAE Labour Law, other conditions include:

• proof of the ‘student’ status
• a valid UAE residence visa for expatriate students
• a copy of Emirates ID
• in case of training, a ‘no objection’ certificate from the educational institute in which the student is enrolled.

The trained or employed student, is not entitled to end-of-service gratuity and any other leaves, except as stipulated in the contract.