UAE HSE

Legislation
Matt Jackson
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HSE LEGISLATION AT FEDERAL LEVEL

 Federal Law No.8 of 1980 – UAE Labour Law
 Employers and employees can be held responsible for health and
safety breaches

 Penal Code – Federal Law No.3 of 1987

 Contains financial and detainment penalties

 Power is delegated to individual Emirates from Federal Level for the

development and implementation of local laws related to health and
safety
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HSE LEGISLATION IN DUBAI

 Local Order 61 of 1991 and Admin Order 211 of 1991
 Specific to environmental protection, but contains provisions on health
and safety of employees, including the reporting of incidents and
accidents and the obligation of employers for the reporting of those
incidents and accidents

 Dubai Municipality Code of Construction Safety Practice

 Specifies the responsibilities and working conditions for workers for
health and safety on site

 Dubai Municipality Technical Guidelines

 A new range of Technical Guidelines were issued in 2011/12, e.g.
“Rope Access, Emergency Preparedness and Electrical Safety at
Work”
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HSE LEGISLATION IN DUBAI

 TECOM Regulations
 Employment Regulations 2004 establish a safety and injury prevention
programme
 HSE Regulations allow TECOM to set higher standards than those
adopted at Federal and local level

 JAFZA Health and Safety Manual

 Applies to entities operating within JAFZA and includes a chapter on
Health, Safety, Environment and Fire
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HSE LEGISLATION IN ABU DHABI

 Largely follows the Federal regime

 AD Executive Council Decree 42 of 2009 Concerning The

Environmental, Health and Safety management System in the Abu
Dhabi Emirate
 Unified tool specific to the implementation of the AD EHSMS RF
 Stipulates the responsibilities of the Competent Authority (OSHAD)
 Stipulates the responsibilities of Sector Regulatory Authorities (SRA’S)
e.g. The Centre of Waste Management, Industrial Development Bureau
and The Health Authority Abu Dhabi)
 Stipulates the responsibilities of entities for the implementation of the
AD EHSMS RF
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HSE LEGISLATION IN ABU DHABI

 Structure revised in 2012
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SELF REGULATING BODIES IN THE UAE

 Have the power delegated to them by local governments to self
regulate to achieve their objectives in a given industry

 Examples of self-regulating bodies:

 Dubai Aviation and Engineering Projects (DAEP)
 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)
 Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (DEWA)
 Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC)
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LIABILITY
 Criminal sanctions

 Fixed compensation

 Civil compensatory damages

 Contractual liability

 Administrative sanctions
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CRIMINAL SANCTIONS
 Penal Code
 Contains financial and detainment penalties

 Labour Law and Ministerial Decisions

 Any breach of health and safety obligations is punishable by fine of up
to Dh10,000 and/or imprisonment for up to six months
 Fines can be levied against the Organisation, however it is the
Organisations Officers who could face imprisonment
 Previous cases suggest that imprisonment is usually only imposed
where gross negligence has occurred
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LIABILITY
 Fixed Compensation
 Diya (blood money) – compensation for a human life – Dh200,000

 Arsh – compensation for the loss of an organ, a body part or their

functions – sliding scales
- Determined by a medical investigation team
- Percentage is calculated as a share of the Dh200,000 (Diya)
- Some instances i.e. loss of both legs pay full diya amount

 Civil compensatory damages

 Emotional damages – No set payment schedule – claimed separately

 Loss of future earnings - When a court calculates loss of earnings, a

person’s salary would be calculated based on the retirement age.
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EMOTIONAL DAMAGES EXAMPLE

“A woman had an accident and because of the accident, her private parts
were revealed,” said Mr Al Othali. “She can claim compensation for
emotional damages – the shame and embarrassment that she felt
because of the accident.”

Source – The National - UAE’s compensation system is more

reasonable than those in the West, says expert
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LOSS OF FUTURE EARNINGS EXAMPLE

“If a person has an accident that made him lose both his arms, he will get
the Dh200,000 arsh money,” he said. “But he will need someone to feed
him, change him and take care of him. So he will need to hire someone to
help him.

“He might lose his job and be unable to work again. He might also have
young children who are dependent on him. How will society look at him
after the accident? So his situation is more complicated, which is why he
should ask for and receive higher compensation.”

“Let’s say he had the accident when he was 35 years old,” he said.
“When the court calculates his loss of earnings the court will estimate his
earnings until his retirement age, which is around 60 to 65.
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LOSS OF FUTURE EARNINGS EXAMPLE

“For compensation that can’t be estimated – such as the way society

looks at him after the injury or the pain that the injury caused – the court
estimates [the compensation amount] as it sees fit. Here, the lawyer has
to make the judge aware of the pain of his client. He might get up to
Dh800,000.”

Source – The National - UAE’s compensation system is more

reasonable than those in the West, says expert
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THANK YOU