The Ministry of Labour in the UAE has established some rules regarding the probation period of employees in the country.
1. MAXIMUM EMPLOYMENT PROBATION PERIOD IN THE UAE
As per Article 9 (1) of Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 regarding the regulation of employment relationship:
“The employer may appoint the worker under a probationary period not exceeding (6) six months from the date of commencement of work.”
With reference to the clause in the aforementioned Article 9, if the employment probation exceeds six months, this will be considered unlawful. In this case, the company will be held accountable or might need to compensate the employee.
2. CONTRACT TERMINATION
Termination of an employee’s employment during the probationary period falls under Article 9 (1) of the UAE labour law. The employer can terminate the limited contract in the UAE during the probation period after notifying the employee in writing at least 14 days “before the date specified for the termination of service”.
As per Article 9 (5) of the UAE labour law, if an employer or employee terminates the contract without taking into account the provisions of this article, they will have to compensate the other party an amount “equal to the worker’s wages for the notice period” or the “remaining period of the notice period.”
3. EMPLOYEE’S RIGHT TO RESIGN AND MOVE TO ANOTHER COMPANY IN THE STATE
According to the Article 9 (3) of Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 regarding the regulation of employment relationship, if the employee intends to work for another employer in the UAE during the probation period, he must notify the existing employer of his intentions in writing within a month to terminate the contract.
There is a specific clause for foreign workers in Article (9) of the UAE labour law. According to Article 9 (4), if a foreign worker intends to resign in the UAE (end the employment contract) during the probation period, he will have to inform the employer within 14 days from the date specified for the contract termination.
In this case, the new employer will have to compensate the original employer by bearing all the costs of recruitment of the worker, unless agreed upon otherwise.
In case, they plan to return to the UAE and get a new work permit within three months from the departure date, the new employer will have to pay the compensation to the old employer [stipulated in clause (3) of this article], unless agreed otherwise.
4. NO ENTITLEMENT TO SICK LEAVES
According to the Article 31 (2) of Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 regarding the regulation of employment relationship, the employee is not allowed a paid sick leave during the probation period in UAE. However, the employee may grant the worker an unpaid sick leave in the UAE, based on a medical report issued by a healthcare centre.
5. ENTITLEMENT TO GRATUITY
According to the rules and regulations of the UAE Labour Law, an employee serving a probation period in the UAE is not entitled to any gratuity payments.
Completing the probation period and continuing to work for the same company for a year, allows an employee to avail of full gratuity. You can also take a look at the DIFC gratuity law in the UAE to get a clear picture of the rules and regulations regarding gratuity payments.
6. NO EXTENSION IN THE PROBATION PERIOD
Extension in the probation period is illegal specifically if the employee upholds the performance standards of the company. Similarly, an employer cannot put an employee on probation for the second time in the same company, according to Article 9 (2) of Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 regarding the regulation of employment relationships: