In the global competition for talent, the UAE is ensuring it is ahead of the game by introducing initiatives which are aimed at increasing its liveability for expats, industry leaders agreed, the latest of which is changes to its labour law.
Effective for the private sector from February 2022, Federal Decree-Law No 33 of 2021 governing employment relations, will introduce such amendments as anti-discrimination clauses, more favourable end-of-service terms and longer maternity and compassionate leaves – all of which make the country a more attractive place to work.
“The latest announcements are another example of the UAE placing a dual emphasis on investment and talent as it seeks to realise its growth and diversification ambitions. The announced policies mean that labour regulations seem more in line with expectations in Europe and other parts of the world “This enhances the liveability of the UAE for expat workers, and we have seen increasingly that non-wage benefits are becoming more important to employees,” Scott Livermore (below), ICAEW economic advisor and chief economist at Oxford Economics, told Arabian Business.
“This enhances the liveability of the UAE for expat workers, and we have seen increasingly that non-wage benefits are becoming more important to employees.
“This is likely to be especially important as the UAE seeks to retain talent and develop a high-skilled and stable workforce with employees building careers in the UAE rather than viewing the UAE as a temporary posting. This will benefit the quality of the workforce, retain know-how, and encourage more significant investment and involvement by expats in the local economy,” he continued.
One of the significant amendments to the law is the provision for temporary, part-time and flexible work, especially pertinent in the post-coronavirus economy.
“One of the biggest learnings for businesses that has arisen from the Covid-19 experience is that flexible working arrangements are not only possible, but in many cases rather welcomed by both businesses and employees alike. The new announcement that offers up flexible working hours and working days will be seen as a major move forward in modernising the business landscape,” said Scott Cairns (below), founder and managing director of Creation Business Consultants.
“With offers of greater employer flexibility on the table, a largely underutilised section of the community may now have the ability to make a major contribution – the stay at home parents. For many, this is going to be an extraordinary change. So many professionals in the past have had to choose between either a family or career. With part-time arrangements now being enshrined into law, this highly skilled demographic will now be able to enjoy the best of both worlds,” he continued.
“The role-out of the new work models will reduce labour shortages and provide more employment options. Therefore, this will attract a greater skilled worker force which will benefit businesses overall,” he added.
Given the heightened focus on a work-life balance among the workforce, Cairns said that it is important for employers to “recognise and provide adaptable work models and encourage employees to utilise them. Not only will this provide greater comfort to the employee / employer but will certainly reiterate their commitment to retaining a company’s most valuable asset: their workforce”.
Another amendment which will be positively received by international employees is the one which allows them to stay in the UAE for up to 180 days once they have resigned or been terminated from their jobs.
“This amendment gives them enough time to stay in the country, if they have the means to, and find an alternative job. It comes with the opening up of the market and the recent efforts at attracting new labour to come and live in Dubai and, at the same time, maintain the ones they already have,” said Mohammed Ali Yasin, chief strategy officer at Al Dhabi Capital.
“It complements all steps we have been seeing in the country over the past eighteen months, from Golden visas to retirement ones, aimed at having more expats live in the UAE. It’s no longer the case that you can only stay in the country if you have a job,” he continued.
This comes in as Dubai started issuing five-year multi-entry permits for employees of international companies, another move aimed at attracting foreigners and boosting growth.
New permits will help employees travel easily to Dubai and take part in conferences, exhibitions and meetings, Dubai’s Crown Prince Hamdan Bin Mohammed said on Twitter.
Foreign residents make up more than 90 percent of Dubai’s population and have been a mainstay of the economy for decades, doing most private sector jobs and spending their money on property or shopping in some of the world’s largest malls.
As part of its efforts to attract foreigners to the country, the UAE approved plans to offer citizenship to a select group of people, the first GCC nation to formalise a process aimed at giving expatriates a bigger stake in the economy.
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