Here are the United Arab Emirates (UAE) statutory updates for 2024.
Effective October 2024
Stricter Penalties for Violating the Emiratization Requirements
The UAE government has raised the administrative fines for breaking rules pertaining to Emiratization to AED 8,000 per month, with an additional AED 1,000 increase per year. 7,000 AED a month previously.
Source: Fragomen
Effective August 2024
Employment Salaries are Payable in Cryptocurrency
The Dubai Court of First Instance rendered a significant ruling for Labour case number 1739 of 2024, which acknowledged the payment of salaries in cryptocurrencies as permitted by employment contracts. It is a significant divergence from an earlier ruling made by the same court in 2023.
The court ruled in favour of the employee, not only recognising the validity of payment in cryptocurrency but also ordering the payment to be made in cryptocurrency rather than converting it into fiat currency.
The court’s continuous application of legal principles concerning the determination and payment of salaries is shown by its reliance in the 2023 and 2024 rulings on Article 912 of the UAE Civil Transactions Law and Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021.
The evolving legal and economic environment of the United Arab Emirates has resulted in a wider acceptance and incorporation of digital currencies, as evidenced by the evolution of the interpretation of these rules between the two decisions.
Source: Wasel & Wasel
More Strict Penalties for Labour Law Violations
The fines for the following offences are now from AED 100,000 to AED 1,000,000 (previously from AED 20,000 to AED 200,000):
- employing a worker without obtaining an appropriate work authorization;
- hiring individuals without providing them with an actual job; and
- using work authorizations for purposes other than those for which they are issued.
- False Emiratization: misleading labour practices that give a false impression of how many UAE nationals an employer has hired
Penalties are compounded by the number of workers impacted by the specific infraction. Penalties for breaking other laws in the UAE, such as those on immigration, may also be applied.
Source: Fragomen
