The law has been clear pertaining to the duties of employers in the UAE and the MoHRE has provided five steps that employers must follow if they want to cancel a complaint that has been filed against an employee who failed to respect working hours and reporting back to duty.
To initiate the process, employers need to;
- Log in using their username and password or through their digital identity.
- Register the request by entering the worker’s personal information, such as permit number or passport details, along with the establishment’s data.
- Verify the applicant’s identity by providing a phone number or electronic signature card. A one-time password (OTP) will be sent via text message or email for verification.
- Review and process the request by an authorized employee.
- Receive notification of the request’s completion status through a text message.
- This service, which takes 14 days to complete, allows employers to track the progress of their request through MoHRE’s website, smart app (MOHRE UAE), or by contacting the call center at 600590000.
Legal Framework
The Federal Decree-Law on Labour Relations enshrined this in Article 50: any expatriate employee that resigns from work without any sufficient cause before the expiry of their contract may not be eligible to obtain another work permit in the UAE for one year from the date the employee ceased to work.
Other employers are also prohibited from hiring or retaining such workers during that period as well as during the subsequent five consecutive days. However, the Ministry may grant some exceptions for specified categories of jobs, skills, or employees.
Handling Worker Complaints
There is also a mechanism through which MoHRE receives complaints from workers. From this process, the Ministry will provide the parties involved in the disagreement with a contract within 14 days from the day the complaint was made in order to consider of the complaint. The Ministry can then take one of three actions:
- Allow for a friendly compromise between the two no matter what the claim is worth.
- Make a ruling on the complaint if the claim falls below Dh50,000 or deals with a breach of the settlement agreement.
- If it cannot be settled amicably and if the claim exceeds Dh50,000, then refer the complaint to the judiciary.
When workers file a complaint they have to give their work permit number or passport number, and when establishments file a report they have to give the facility number and the employer’s unified number.
MoHRE offers three channels for submitting complaints: the Ministry’s website, its smart app, and a dedicated call centre at 80084. These platforms are available to private sector workers, employers, and domestic workers seeking to resolve labour disputes.
