Recently, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in his capacity as the President of the United Arab Emirates, issued Federal Decree-Law No. (20) of 2023 amending certain provisions of Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 regarding the regulation of the employment relationship.
The decree will come into effect on January 1, 2024 and introduces substantial amendments concerning specialized jurisdiction rules pertaining to certain labour disputes.
The primary goal of these amendments is to accelerate the resolution of labour disputes and achieve greater stability. Below, we shed light on the most significant of these amendments:
1. To safeguard the rights of workers and prevent lengthy labour
disputes before the judiciary, the authority to adjudicate simple
labour claims has been delegated to the Ministry of Human Resources
and Emiratization for the first time. Paragraph (2) of Article (54)
of Federal Decree-Law No. (20) of 2023, stipulates that the
Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization has the jurisdiction
to issue a binding decision in labour disputes presented to it by
the employer or employee, provided that the value of the claim does
not exceed AED 50,000. This authority also extends to labour
disputes related to the non-compliance of either party, with a
previous amicable settlement decision issued by the Ministry,
irrespective of the claim's value. Prior to the issuance of
this decree, the role of the Ministry was limited to referring such
cases to the courts for adjudication, where settlements for these
disputes were unattainable.
2. Paragraph (3) of Article (54) stipulates that the Ministry's
decision to adjudicate the dispute in accordance with its
jurisdiction as specified in paragraph (2) of this Article shall
have the force of an execution instrument and be executed in the
customary manner.
3. In addition to the above, the wording of this paragraph allows
either party to the dispute, within (15) days from the date of
notification of the Ministry's decision, to file a lawsuit
before the competent Court of Appeal to review the substance of the
dispute. The judgment issued by the Court of Appeal is final and
not subject to appeal, and the filing of such a lawsuit results in
the suspension of the execution of the Ministry's
decision.
4. It is worth mentioning that paragraph (9) of Article (54) of
that decree has classified the adherence to the procedures
mentioned above as part of the public order. Consequently, if these
procedures are not followed the court is mandated to dismiss any
such lawsuit brought before it on the grounds of
inadmissibility.
The significance of this amendment evidently lies in its role of reducing the backlog and accumulation of lower valued lawsuits in courts, while aiming to expedite their resolution. The majority of such labour claims are often brought by low-income workers, therefore a swift resolution prevents the hassle and expense of being in court.
The amendment also allows the courts more time to consider and delve into other significant and complex labour disputes, which require resolute focus and thorough examination to reach a just outcome.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.