Private companies in the UAE will have to pay up to 3,450 dirhams as fees for obtaining work permits in case of non-compliance with the policies, laws, and resolutions regulating the labor market.
The UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has introduced a new private sector company classification system.
Abdul Rahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, said that the new system classifies establishments into three categories.
The new program which will come into effect as of June 1, assesses firms on how they are following UAE labor law such as enacting labor and wage payment rules, safeguarding workers’ rights, and promoting diversity.
Al Awar indicated that the fees for obtaining a work permit would be 250 dirhams for the two years in the first category, 1,200 dirhams for companies classified in the second category, and 3,450 dirhams, which are classified in the third.
For the first category, establishments that fully adhere to all procedures related to the federal law (33 of 2021) and all pertaining executive regulations, and all decisions issued by the ministry regarding work permits and contracts for citizens and others, and the wage system.
The second category is the basic category that adheres to all procedures related to fees established by the same law and its pertaining executive regulations, and all decisions issued by the Ministry, regarding work permits and contracts for citizens and others, and the wage system, in addition to a commitment to the manpower planning policy, through enhancing cultural and demographic diversity in the country’s labor market.
Meanwhile, the third category includes private enterprises that violate the approved country’s manpower planning policy, which promotes cultural and demographic diversity in the labor market.
The ministry said it will work with companies on the new system and provide a road map for those wishing to upgrade their classification.
The new plan aims to strengthen the partnership with the private sector while also helping the country’s economy become one of the best in the world.
It comes following several measures introduced this month that aim to encourage the hiring of more Emiratis in the private sector.
The UAE Cabinet decreed that companies with more than 50 employees should have a 2 percent Emirati workforce by next year, moving to up to 10 percent by 2026.
A company that fails to reach the target must pay 6,000 dirhams a month for every Emirati it fails to hire.
