In the United Arab Emirates, employees are being allowed to work for more than one employer(s) with effect from February 2022.
Under the Federal Law No. 33 of 2021 regulating labour relations, employees in the private sector can work part-time, temporary or flexible in the UAE.
Introducing new types of work, besides the regular full-time scheme, safeguards employee rights, enabling them to engage in more than one job and use their skills differently.
The new labour laws allow part-time work, facilitate employees to work for one or more employers for a specified number of hours or days scheduled for work.
According to Khaleej Times, temporary work can be a contract for a specific period or on a project basis that ends with the job’s completion.
Flexible work gives employees the freedom to work at different times depending on the conditions and requirements of the job, in addition to the full-time work currently prevalent in the labour market. The contract under the new law covers hours or days of performance that may change depending on the employer’s volume of work, economic variables, and operational variables.
Further models of work, including self-employment and condensed working weeks, are expected to be introduced once the executive regulations are laid out to oversee the law implementation.
The new law enables employers to hire workers with expired contracts but are still in the country through simple and flexible procedures. Besides granting employee flexibility, it will also help employers to harness different talents and competencies at the lowest operating cost and will improve their ease of doing business.
The executive regulations of the law will specify the responsibilities of both parties, including gratuity at the end of the employment relationship, depending on each work model.
