When you’re looking for hiring domestic workers, it’s absolutely essential that you’re aware of domestic helpers regulations in the UAE. Without reading the law, you won’t be aware of your rights and your employee’s rights.
Many disputes that occur regarding domestic workers occur due to people’s lack of knowledge. With a better understanding of the laws and regulations, these disputes will naturally decrease in number. The UAE’s domestic policies are very comprehensive and leave no room for misinterpretation.
Here’s everything that you need to know regarding new regulations for hiring domestic helpers in the UAE.
There are two basic ways that you can divide domestic workers. The two main categories are live-in and live-out workers. As the names suggest, live-in workers are those who live in the residence where they work, and live-out workers reside outside their place of work.
That means that chauffeurs, maids, and private teachers all qualify.
Key Aspects of Domestic Labor Law
The UAE domestic labor law regulates four main areas, include:
There are certain rights every domestic helper is titled to under the UAE. These rights cover their wages, accommodation, and food.
Domestic workers must receive the contractual amount within ten days of the due date when it comes to wages. They’re also entitled to one paid rest day every week and a minimum of 12 hours per day, including a consecutive rest of 8 hours.
In addition, domestic workers will also receive 30 days of paid vacation per year and 30 days of medical leave every year. Employers must also provide their domestic workers with medical insurance.
The law also covers their fundamental rights, including decent accommodation and decent meals at the employer’s expense. Employers must also provide their workers with attire suitable for the task they want to perform.
When it comes to their personal identification papers, employees have complete rights over the possession of those items. However, both the employee and employer have the right to bring a dispute to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
The ministry will take a period of two weeks and attempt to resolve the case. If an agreement isn’t reached within two weeks, the matter will go into court. When the helpers file a case, they’re exempt from all court fees and must be heard promptly.
When hiring domestic helpers, there are some prohibitions that citizens in the UAE need to be aware of. Any violation of these prohibitions can lead to fines and further punishment potentially.
In no circumstances can a person in the UAE hire a domestic worker under the age of 18. There are also laws that cover discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, and political opinion.
Employers may in no way expose their domestic helpers to physical harm, and they can’t assign tasks that don’t fall under the details of the contract.
There are also sexual harassment laws that cover both verbal and physical harassment.
Hiring a domestic worker in the UAE through non-legal channels is a penal offense and is a blatant violation of the Federal labor law. It could potentially have disastrous consequences for both the employer and the employee.
There are three main ways that hiring a worker illegally could potentially spell trouble for employers. Illegal workers don’t undergo the necessary medical tests and could potentially infect the employer and their family with a disease.
On top of that, illegal workers don’t have a valid work permit, which means that their stay in the country is classified as that of a wanted fugitive. That further puts the employer into deeper trouble because they come under fire for sheltering a wanted fugitive potentially.
When hiring domestic helpers in the UAE, make sure to do it from the proper legal channel.
Previously, people in the UAE could visit different recruitment agencies in order to hire domestic helpers. However, all of that changed due to the introduction of Tadbeer centers. These are now the only legal way of hiring workers in the UAE.
Each tadbeer center is regulated by MOHRE. The centers effectively guarantee a visa, orientation, and training to their workers. Employers can choose between three different recruitment packages. The packages are as follows:
These packages provide on-demand domestic helpers that families can hire under flexible circumstances. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there are certain restrictions on this particular type of package.
Under this package, the tadbeer center will recruit domestic helpers from outside the UAE. These centers will guarantee both performance and loyalty from the domestic workers for 180 days. The visa sponsorship falls directly under the employing family.
If the worker absconds before the 180-day period, then the agency will be fined, and employers will receive some recuperation from that fine.
Aside from the standard sponsorship, tadbeer centers also offer employers the opportunity to enter into a six-month contract. They’ll hire the employee temporarily for six months and then have the option of transferring the employees’ visa to family sponsorship.
The last package works similarly to the direct sponsorship, with the only difference being that the worker will be sponsored by the tadbeer center.
One of the most interesting developments in the UAE is the growth of part-time workers. Instead of hiring domestic helpers from another country, the UAE is increasingly turning towards part-time working solutions. These might be more expensive, but there are certain benefits.
A significant benefit is that there are much fewer reported cases of disputes between the employer and the domestic help. However, part-time workers just won’t work for some families.
Regardless of whether you choose to hire a full-time domestic worker or go for part-time options, making your domestic workers’ payments on time is crucial. If you’re late on any payments, then you’ll be in direct violation of the UAE’s labor laws.
You need to make the payment no later than ten days after the due date. It’s also important to keep a record of the payments that you make!
Not only is it a requirement under the UAE labor laws, but it’s also going to help ensure that you can stay on top of all the payments.
One easy way you can make your domestic helpers’ payments convenient for yourself is by going for Ratibi card.
Ratibi card is a salary payroll solution designed by First Abu Dhabi Bank to pay the salaries for employees that earn up to AED 5,000. It completely eliminates the stress about paying your employee their salary and ensures that you can keep track of your payments easily. There’s no need for the cardholders to open a bank account as they’ll receive the salary directly on the card.
One of the best current features of Ratibi card is that it can be linked with payit mobile app to be super accessible and usable in all ATMs, in stores, and for online shopping. It also works with VISA/MasterCard networks around the world.
Another super advantage of linking Ratibi card with payit app. is to use the app. to conveniently request cash in advance and get up to 50% of your salary if your employer is listed with payit
Other helpful benefits include offering cardholders free personal accident insurance. There’s also no minimum balance requirement or monthly charges for Ratibi cardholders.
that cardholders will receive free SMS alerts on every salary credit. The card effectively ensures that the employees can safely store their money with complete privacy. They can set their own custom PIN from any FAB ATM and get customer support from the 24/7 call center. You also don’t have to worry about meeting any government complaints as the card works perfectly well.
The Ratibi card system is convenient for the employer as it eliminates the need for cash payments and keeps track of all the payments. Employees benefit because they get access to an effective debit card without needing to open a bank account.
It’s essential to be fully informed about the domestic labor laws in the UAE before hiring any domestic worker. Without understanding the laws completely, you won’t know about all the rights of the employer and the domestic helper.
To avoid encountering any sort of disputes, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the laws. That way, you can hire all the domestic helpers you need without having to worry too much.