Employment Laws
Managing a workforce in the UAE means working with Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and its executive regulations, the MOHRE framework, and the separate regimes of the DIFC, the ADGM and the wider free zones. We support employers and employees end-to-end — contracts, onboarding, payroll and WPS, policies, termination and disputes — across the mainland and the free zones, with coordinated advice along the UAE–India corridor.
From onboarding to exit.
End-to-end advisory, documentation and representation, keeping the employer–employee relationship compliant under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 in the mainland and under each free zone's own regime.
Employment contracts & HR documentation
- Contracts — limited-term contracts (the standard under the current law), part-time arrangements, flexible working models, consultancy agreements and executive-level contracts.
- HR documentation — HR manuals, workplace policies, codes of conduct, and confidentiality / IP clauses tailored to your operations.
- Mainland & free zone — drafting calibrated to mainland and free-zone requirements alike.
Onboarding, visa & work permit compliance
- Onboarding — offer letters, MOHRE approvals, visa applications, quota management and employee classification.
- Authorities — alignment with MOHRE, the ICP and immigration authorities, including the relevant free-zone regulations.
WPS & payroll compliance
- Wage Protection System (WPS) — salary structures and payroll practices that comply with statutory regulations.
- Entitlements — end-of-service benefits and leave entitlements, correctly calculated.
Workplace policies & regulatory governance
- Conduct & protection — workplace conduct, anti-discrimination, remote-work protocols and disciplinary procedures.
- Standards — health and safety standards and data-protection obligations applicable to UAE companies.
Investigations, disciplinary action & exit
- Documentation that holds — notices, warnings and settlement agreements that withstand scrutiny before MOHRE or the UAE courts.
- End-of-service & offboarding — EOSB calculations, final settlements, visa cancellations, asset recovery and handover.
Representation before MOHRE & the courts
- MOHRE & settlement — responding to labour complaints, attending amicable settlement sessions, and managing escalation.
- Courts & tribunals — the UAE Labour Courts at all levels, and the DIFC and ADGM employment dispute resolution tribunals.
- Free-zone reach — employment frameworks across DIFC, ADGM, DMCC, DAFZA, JAFZA and TECOM, each with its own regulations and dispute mechanisms.
Through our presence in both the UAE and India, expatriate deployment, secondment and group employment policy are handled under one relationship — keeping mainland, free-zone and Indian employment positions consistent for multinational employers operating across both markets.
A sample of recent matters.
Unlawfully withheld passport & dues. Acted for an employee whose passport and dues were unlawfully withheld by the employer after termination — securing the prompt return of her passport and full recovery of outstanding salaries, end-of-service benefits and repatriation expenses.
Mainland restructuring & settlements. Advised a mainland employer through a workforce restructuring — termination notices, EOSB calculations and settlement agreements drafted to MOHRE standards, with amicable settlement sessions managed to resolution.
Free-zone employment dispute. Represented a client in an employment dispute before a free-zone tribunal, coordinating the DIFC / ADGM procedure through to a favourable resolution.
Compliant first, defensible always.
Get the contract, the payroll and the process right, and most disputes never start.
Regime
Identifying the applicable regime — mainland under Decree-Law 33 of 2021, or the relevant free zone.
Document
Contracts, HR policies and onboarding aligned with MOHRE, the WPS and free-zone rules.
Manage
Disciplinary action, restructuring and exit run with documentation that holds up.
Represent
MOHRE settlement, the UAE Labour Courts, and the DIFC and ADGM tribunals.