Week 1-3: UAE

Labor Law-
Labor Dispute
Resolution
Objectives:
Introduction to the course and recapitulation of key legal
definitions and concepts

 1. Discuss the interaction between the UAE Labor Law and

other legal sources: the UAE constitution and the International
labor rules and standards

 2. Identify and discuss labor settlement resolutions and

procedures in the UAE
 Sources of UAE labor law

National labor legislations:

 Constitutional framework (values)
 The Labor Code & supplementary rules issued by the Ministry
of Labor
International labor law:
 International conventions
 ILO standards
Hierarchy of law

Constitution
• General principles and values that
govern the nation (e.g All citizens
are equal)

International agreements and

conventions
• e.g United Nations agreements on
Human rights-International Labor
standards (ILO)..etc

National laws
• Laws made by the country to
govern its citizens (e.g Business
laws-Labor law-family law..etc
1- Constitutional framework
 The UAE Constitution is the fundamental law of
the country
 The document was created when the country was
established
 It contains general principles about how the state
operates, e.g. government bodies
 Also contains important values indicative of how
employment is regarded
3-International labor law (ILO)
International conventions & ILO standards
 The specialist body of the UN, the ILO is a forum
for discussing labor matters and the latest trends,
and to issue guidelines for addressing labor issues
affecting many countries
International labor organization
(ILO)

 The International Labor Organization was founded

in 1919 and became a specialized agency of the
United Nations in 1946. It currently has 185
member States.
 The ILO’s Governing Body has identified eight
Conventions as “fundamental”, covering subjects
that are considered as fundamental principles and
rights at work:
International labor organization

The eight fundamental Conventions are:

 • Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise
Convention, 1948 (No. 87)
 • Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No.
98)
 • Forced Labor Convention, 1930 (No. 29)
 • Abolition of Forced Labor Convention, 1957 (No. 105)
 • Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)
 • Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, 1999 (No. 182)
 • Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)
 • Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958
 (No. 111)
3-The Labor Code & supplementary
rules issued by the Ministry of Labor
 Based on the entitlement in the Constitution, the Federal
Government issues the laws to regulate and govern essential
areas
 Since the legal system is a civil system, the rules of
employment are codified
 The respective government body issues supplementary rules to
further detail certain parts of the code
FEDERAL LABOR LAW CODE No. 8 of 1980
 Federal Labor Law Code No. 8 of 1980 contains the law that
applies to the employer – employee relationship in the UAE
 This law ONLY applies to employers and employees in
PRIVATE COMPANIES
(Government sector is under the  
Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR))
 It applies in all 7 emirates
 It also applies to all national (Emirati) and non-national (ex-
pat) employees (in private companies)
Review for ADR for business settings

 Conciliation
 Negotiation
 Mediation
 Arbitration
 If there
DISPUTE is a(summary)
RESOLUTION dispute
between the employee and the employer:
 either party may make a written application to the Labor Office at the
Ministry of Labor in the emirate in which the employer's business is
located, to resolve the dispute
 the parties will then be summoned to appear at the Labor Office for
Mediation
 the Ministry must make a recommendation within two weeks
 If the parties are still unable to settle the dispute as recommended by the
Ministry of Labor, then the matter is referred to the Labor Court