Rights of Women in UAE Labour Law
UAE Labour Law specifically provided a seperate section for Women. Employment of Women in UAE is governed by UAE Labour Law, under Section 3 and Section 4 and Articles 27 through Article 34. These are the Rights of Women in addition to the rest of the UAE Labour Law.
The following is the extract from UAE Labour Law with regard to the Employment of Women:
SECTION 3 – EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN
ARTICLE (27)
Women may not be required to work at night. The term “night” means a period of not less than eleven consecutive hours including the period from 10 p.m to 7 a.m.
ARTICLE (28)
The following cases shall be excepted from the clause prohibiting women to work at night.
a. In the event where the work in the establishment is stopped due to force majeure.
b. Work in responsible managerial and technical jobs.
c. Work in medical and other services as may be decided by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs if the working woman does not normally carry out a manual job.
ARTICLE (29)
Women may not be employed where jobs are hazardous, harmful or detrimental to health or morals, and in such other jobs as may be decided by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs after consulting with the competent authorities.
ARTICLE (30)
A working woman is entitled to maternity leave with full pay for a period of forty five days including the time before and after delivery, provided that her continuous period of service with the employer should not be less than a year, but if a working woman has not completed the said period, the maternity leave shall be with half pay. A working woman, on the expiry of the maternity leave, may discontinue work without pay for a maximum period of one hundred consecutive or intermittent days if such absence is due to illness which does not enable her to resume work. Such illness shall be evidenced by a medical certificate issued by a medical authority attested by the competent health authority or endorsed by such authorities to the effect that the illness resulted from pregnancy or delivery. Leave provided for in the preceding two paragraphs shall not be computed as part of other leaves.
ARTICLE (31)
In addition to any prescribed rest period, a working woman nursing her child shall, during the eighteen months following the date of delivery, be entitled to two additional breaks each day for this purpose, neither of which shall exceed half an hour.
These two additional periods shall be considered as working hours and shall not cause any reduction of remuneration.
ARTICLE (32)
A working woman shall be entitled to the same wage as that of a working man, if she does the same work.
SECTION 4 – COMMON PROVISIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT OF JUVENILES & WOMEN
ARTICLE (33)
The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs may decide to exempt charity and educational organizations from all or part of the provisions stipulated in the two preceding sections of this Chapter if the objects of such organizations are to provide vocational rehabilitation or training to juveniles or women on condition that the bylaws of these organizations provide for the nature of the work to be carried out by juveniles and women, the working hours and conditions in a manner that commensurate with the actual potentiality of women and juveniles.
ARTICLE (34)
Criminal liability in respect of the enforcement of the provisions provided for in Sections 2 and 3 of this Chapter shall be incurred by:
a. The Employers of their representative.
b. The Guardians or trustees of juveniles, husbands, guardians or trustees of minor women if they have agreed to the employment of women and juveniles contrary to the provisions of the Law.
As you can see, MOL has provided special treatment for women under UAE Labour Law which works towards protecting the employees. If you face any discrimination at workplace or any violation of the above rules, you could file a complaint with MOL.
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hi,
i approached my company prior to my delivery to request for six months leave as maternity leave and only 45 days is approved for me. they rejected the request of six months and they informed the extension of maternity leave will be due to any illness that may resulted from delivery and only after my delivery as per a doctor report & certificate, my clarification as a mother i am not entitled to obtain six months maternity leave and in case i did not resume to duty after the 45 days is my company can terminate my services.
thank you,
hi,
i approached my company prior to my delivery to request for six months leave as maternity leave and only 45 days is approved for me. they rejected the request of six months and they informed the extension of maternity leave will be due to any illness that may resulted from delivery and only after my delivery as per a doctor report & certificate, my clarification as a mother i am not entitled to obtain six months maternity leave and in case i did not resume to duty after the 45 days is my company can terminate my services.
thank you,
Hi Deepak, They are forcing me to work until 1am in the night where as they have options where they can keep male workers who even live next to mall in distance of 10 mins walking for closing shift. but they just forcing me I work in mall of emirates as customer service and i live in ajman.
You must inform your company about your situation and if they still do not comply, you may approach MOL/MOHRE.
It say that women can work at night 10pm-7am. Is it OK that she works 4pm-12am ALONE?
By the way, she works in a cafe.
by the way sir i am a florist, is it considered as technical job?
Maria,
I am not sure!
also sir they want me to manage a new shop where i will be in charge but they refuse to increase my salary plus the fact that i will be the only person there, i would have to work from 9am to 11-12mn daily. do i have the right to refuse? because they told me i don’t have a say on this matter because they hired me to work and i have to do what they say. it is my first time yo work here in uae
Maria,
Read: http://emiratesdiary.com/uae-labour-law-2/making-employees-work-9-hours-day
dear mr. deepak,
i have been in my company for 7 months now. my day off is friday and they want me to move my off on sunday. i took my off sept 4 (friday) and i was told my next off will be on sept 13. meaning i wouldn’t have a day off on a week sept 5-12. i told them that it is not fair. am i being ridiculous or am i right? i told them if i wouldn’t have a day off in a week then just don’t move my off. do i have the right to refuse them and keep fridays off?
Maria,
This is a trivial issue which you should sort out with your company!
I feel they should first give you the Friday off and the Sunday off in the same week.
Well, i have a friend who has been over-worked by her boss in dubai, she works for more than the required 8 hours and goes on for even more than 12 hours a day and when she filed her case to MOE, her boss has threatened to terminate her contract and telling her that she will get a ban. What is the way forward since she feels threatened and insecure at her place of work?
Mathias,
Better to quit the job after finding a new job!
Labour ban may be applicable depending on her situation.