DRAFT — for agreement before entry into the MOHRE employment contract
Employment Contract — Draft Terms
Prepared under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (the “Decree-Law”) and Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on its implementation (the “Implementing Regulation”), for an establishment in the UAE mainland private sector registered with MOHRE. Articles cited without a name are articles of the Decree-Law.
1. Status of This Draft and the MOHRE Contract
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Articles 8(1) and 66(2); Implementing Regulation, Articles 10(2) and 10(4)
The binding employment contract between the parties is the one issued and registered through the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) on its official form for the agreed work model. This document is a draft of the terms the parties agree to enter into that contract; it does not replace it.
The parties may add clauses to the MOHRE contract form only if they agree with the Decree-Law, the Implementing Regulation and the Legal Regulations (Implementing Regulation, Article 10(2)). A term of this draft kept as an annex to the MOHRE contract applies only on that condition.
If this draft and the MOHRE contract differ, the MOHRE contract prevails.
This draft is in English. The MOHRE contract is concluded in Arabic, with another language the Employee understands beside it; where the two differ, the Arabic text prevails (Decree-Law, Article 66(2)).
2. Statutory Rights Prevail
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Article 65(1) and (3)
The rights set out in the Decree-Law are the minimum rights of the Employee, and they do not prejudice any right more beneficial to the Employee under other legislation, an agreement or the employment contract (Decree-Law, Article 65(1)).
No term of this draft reduces a right that the Decree-Law, the Implementing Regulation or the resolutions issued for their implementation give the Employee. A term that contradicts them is void unless it is more beneficial to the Employee, and any discharge, settlement or waiver of the Employee’s rights under the Decree-Law that contradicts it is void (Decree-Law, Article 65(3)).
3. Parties
Legal basis: Implementing Regulation, Article 10(1)
Employer: [Employer name]; represented by [Employer signatory name], [Employer signatory title] (the “Employer”).
Employee: [Employee name]; nationality: [Employee nationality] (the “Employee”).
4. Position, Place of Work and Work Model
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Article 7(1)(a); Implementing Regulation, Article 10(1) and 10(4)(a)
The Employee is employed as [Job title]. Place of work: [Place of work].
The Employee works full time: for one employer for full daily working hours throughout the working days (Decree-Law, Article 7(1)(a)).
The MOHRE contract is to be concluded on the Full-time employment contract form (Implementing Regulation, Article 10(4)(a)).
5. Term
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Article 8(3)–(5)
The employment starts on [start date]. This contract is concluded for a fixed term ending on [end date], renewable by agreement of both parties (Decree-Law, Article 8(3)).
An extension or renewal is added to the original term in calculating the Employee’s continuous service (Decree-Law, Article 8(4)). If both parties continue to perform the contract after its term expires without an express agreement, it is implicitly extended on the same conditions (Decree-Law, Article 8(5)).
6. Probation
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Article 9(1)–(5)
The first 6 months from the start of work are a probationary period, which may not exceed six months (Decree-Law, Article 9(1)). The Employee may not be placed on probation more than once with the Employer, and the probationary period counts within the term of service (Decree-Law, Article 9(2)).
During probation the Employer may terminate the Employee’s service by written notice given at least 14 days before the termination date (Decree-Law, Article 9(1)). The Employee may terminate the contract to move to another employer in the UAE by written notice of not less than one month (Decree-Law, Article 9(3)), or to leave the UAE by written notice of not less than 14 days (Decree-Law, Article 9(4)).
A party that terminates without observing this notice pays the other compensation equal to the Employee’s wage for the notice period or its remaining part (Decree-Law, Article 9(5)).
7. Working Hours and Overtime
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Articles 17(1), 18 and 19(1)–(3); Implementing Regulation, Article 15(2)
Normal working hours are 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week. Normal working hours may not exceed eight hours a day or 48 hours a week (Decree-Law, Article 17(1)).
The Employee may not work more than five consecutive hours without a break or breaks totalling at least one hour, which are not counted in the working hours (Decree-Law, Article 18). During the holy month of Ramadan, normal working hours are reduced by two hours (Implementing Regulation, Article 15(2)).
The Employer may require overtime of not more than two hours a day, and total working hours may not exceed 144 hours every three weeks (Decree-Law, Article 19(1)). Overtime is paid at the wage for normal working hours calculated on the basic wage plus at least 25%, and plus at least 50% for overtime between 10 pm and 4 am, except for shift workers (Decree-Law, Article 19(2)–(3)).
8. Weekly Rest and Public Holidays
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Articles 19(4)–(5), 21 and 28(1)
The Employee is entitled to 1 paid rest day a week, and in any case to a paid weekend of not less than one day (Decree-Law, Article 21).
If the Employee works on a rest day, the Employee receives another day off or is paid the wage for that day plus at least 50% of the basic wage for that day (Decree-Law, Article 19(4)); the Employee may not be required to work more than two consecutive rest days, except for day workers (Decree-Law, Article 19(5)).
The Employee is entitled to official days off with full pay on the public holidays defined by resolution of the Cabinet (Decree-Law, Article 28(1)).
9. Wage
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Articles 22(1), 22(3) and 25(1); Implementing Regulation, Article 16(1); Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, Article 1(1)–(2)
The Employee’s monthly wage is AED 0, made up of a basic wage of AED 0 (Decree-Law, Article 22(1)).
The wage is paid in UAE dirhams (Decree-Law, Article 22(3)), through the Wage Protection System approved by MOHRE (Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, Article 1(2); Implementing Regulation, Article 16(1)(b)). The wage for each month is due on the first day of the following Gregorian month, and any payment after that date is a delay in wage payment (Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, Article 1(1)).
No amount is deducted or withheld from the wage except in the cases of Article 25(1) of the Decree-Law.
10. Annual Leave and Other Leave
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Articles 29(1) and 30–32; Implementing Regulation, Article 19
The Employee is entitled to 30 days of annual leave with full wage for each year of service, and not less than 30 days (Decree-Law, Article 29(1)(a)); where service is more than six months and less than a year, to two days for each month (Decree-Law, Article 29(1)(b)); and to leave for the parts of the last year of service if it ends before the leave is used (Decree-Law, Article 29(1)(c)).
The Employee may carry forward not more than half of the annual leave to the following year, or agree with the Employer to receive a cash allowance in lieu of it; when the service ends, the balance of the leave due is paid in cash on the basic wage (Implementing Regulation, Article 19).
Maternity leave, sick leave and the other leaves of Articles 30 to 32 of the Decree-Law apply as the Decree-Law provides.
11. Termination and Notice
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Articles 42, 43(1)–(3) and (5), 44 and 45
The contract ends only in the cases set out in Article 42 of the Decree-Law, including the written agreement of both parties, the expiry of its term unless it is extended or renewed, and the wish of either party subject to the notice below.
Either party may terminate the contract for a legitimate reason by written notice of 30 days, the notice period agreed for both parties. The Decree-Law requires the notice period agreed in the contract to be not less than 30 and not more than 90 days (Article 43(1)), and the same for both parties unless a difference serves the interests of the Employee (Article 43(2)).
The contract remains valid during the notice period; the Employee receives the full wage for it and works during it if the Employer so requests (Decree-Law, Article 43(2)). A party that does not observe the notice period pays the other a notice period allowance equal to the Employee’s wage for the full notice period or its remaining part (Decree-Law, Article 43(3)).
Where the Employer terminates the contract, the Employee may be absent one working day a week without pay during the notice period to look for another job, naming the day at least three days in advance (Decree-Law, Article 43(5)).
The Employer may dismiss the Employee without notice only in the cases of Article 44 of the Decree-Law, and the Employee may leave work without notice only in the cases of Article 45.
12. End-of-Service Benefits
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Articles 51, 52 and 53
At the end of service the Employee receives the end-of-service benefits the Decree-Law provides. This clause restates them for reference and does not change them.
A full-time foreign worker who has completed one year or more of continuous service receives the basic wage of 21 days for each of the first five years of service and of 30 days for each further year, and a proportionate amount for parts of a year, calculated on the last basic wage, the total not exceeding two years’ wage (Decree-Law, Article 51(2), (3), (5) and (6)). A UAE national’s benefits follow the pensions and social security legislation (Article 51(1)); workers under other work models are covered by Article 52, and an alternative scheme approved by the Cabinet applies where the Employer has joined it (Article 51(8)).
The Employer pays the Employee’s wages and all other entitlements within 14 days of the end of the contract (Decree-Law, Article 53).
13. Non-Competition
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Article 10
The Employee is not bound by any non-competition obligation after the contract ends.
14. Confidentiality
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Articles 16(4)–(5) and 44(5)
The Employee keeps confidential the information and data to which the Employee has access by virtue of the work, does not disclose the work’s secrets, and returns the items in the Employee’s custody to the Employer at the end of service (Decree-Law, Article 16(4)). The Employee does not keep original papers or hard or soft copies of documents related to work secrets without the permission of the Employer or its representative (Decree-Law, Article 16(5)).
Disclosing a work secret related to industrial or intellectual property that results in losses to the Employer, a missed opportunity or a personal benefit for the Employee is a case in which the Employer may dismiss the Employee without notice (Decree-Law, Article 44(5)).
15. Recruitment Costs and Official Documents
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Articles 6(4) and 13(2)
The Employer bears the fees and costs of recruiting and employing the Employee and does not charge them to the Employee or collect them from the Employee, directly or indirectly (Decree-Law, Article 6(4)).
The Employer does not withhold the Employee’s official documents or force the Employee to leave the UAE at the end of the employment relationship (Decree-Law, Article 13(2)).
16. Governing Law and Disputes
Legal basis: Decree-Law, Articles 54(1)–(4) and 54(9), as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2024
This contract is governed by the Decree-Law, the Implementing Regulation and the resolutions issued for their implementation.
A dispute between the parties is first submitted to MOHRE to be settled amicably (Decree-Law, Article 54(1)). MOHRE may decide finally a claim of not more than AED 50,000, and a claim that a party has not complied with an amicable settlement decision whatever its value, subject to review by the competent court as Article 54(3) provides; other disputes MOHRE refers to the competent court (Decree-Law, Article 54(2) and (4)).
No claim for a right arising under the Decree-Law is heard after two years from the date the employment relationship ends (Decree-Law, Article 54(9)).
For the Employer — [Employer name]
Name: [Employer signatory name]
Title: [Employer signatory title]
Signature:
Date:
The Employee
Name: [Employee name]
Signature:
Date: