In the UAE, if an employee is terminated without a valid reason, the termination is considered arbitrary. This is in accordance with Article 47 of the Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. This law falls under the Regulation of Employment Relationships and its amendment known as the "Employment Law."
In the event of arbitrary termination, an employee has the right to file a complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MOHRE) against the employer. The actions taken will be based on a complaint filed by an employee against an employer. Seeing the complaint, the MOHRE will attempt to resolve the dispute between the employee and the employer.
MOHRE will be working according to Article 1 of the Federal Decree Law No. 09 of 2024. It will also incorporate some revised versions of the Provisions of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and labour relations (the “Amended Employment Law”) amending the provision of Article 54 of the Employment Law.
As MOHRE highlighted, “In the event of a dispute between an Employer and an Employee or their beneficiaries under the provisions of this Decree-Law, the dispute shall be submitted to the Ministry for resolution. This application will be examined by the Ministry and the necessary steps will be taken in order to resolve the dispute amicably.”
Further, in case MOHRE is unable to resolve a dispute, then they will refer the dispute to the competent court in the emirate where an employer is incorporated. The dispute will then be resolved within 14 calendar days from the date the employee submits the complaint. This comes in accordance with Article 31(2) of the Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on the Implementation of Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 under the Regulations of Employment Relations.
Additionally, if a dispute amount does not exceed Dh50,000, the MOHRE has the authority to resolve such disputes under its jurisdiction. This is in accordance with Article 1 of the Amended Employment Law, amending Article 54 (2) of the Employment Law.