In line with the ongoing efforts of the legislator to enhance and develop legislation, Federal Decree-Law No. (9) of 2024 was issued, which introduced amendments to Federal Decree-Law No. (33) of 2021 concerning the regulation of labor relations. This decree aimed to amend Articles 54 and 60.
It is worth noting that Article 54 of Decree No. 33 of 2021 had previously undergone amendments under Decree No. 20 of 2024. These amendments reflect the legislator’s commitment to achieve a balance between conflicting interests and updating legislation in line with current changes, thereby directly impacting the relationship between workers and employers.
Given the significance and importance of these amendments, we will highlight in this article the amendments made to Article 54 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. We will dedicate the following article to discussing the amendments to Article 60.
Article 54 outlines the procedures for individual labor disputes before the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization and labor courts. While Decree No. 9 maintained part of the procedures as they were, it introduced several critical amendments, as follows:
First Point: Jurisdiction of the court in hearing the labor case after the decision is issued by the Ministry.
The new decree stipulates that the primary court is competent to hear this case, abolishing the previous Decree No. 20, which had determined that the appellate court was the competent court for hearing such cases.
Second Point: The period during which the labor case shall be filed, and the start date of this period.
The new decree determined that the period during which the labor case shall be filed is two years from the date of the termination of the employment relationship. This amends the period during which the case could be filed, which was previously one year from the date of entitlement to the labor claim.
Important Note: It is noteworthy that the new decree specifies that the start of the two years is from the termination of the labor relationship, not from the entitlement to the claim, as stated in Decree No. 20 of 2024.
Third Point: Amendment of the nature of the decision issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization in the labor complaint.
While Decree No. 20 of 2024 described the decision issued by the Ministry as a "final decision in the dispute," the new decree only refers to the decision as a "decision".
Fourth Point: Amendment of the period allocated for adjudicating the case before the court.
The new decree amended the period allocated for adjudicating the case by the competent court to 30 days instead of 15 days, as was stated in Decree No. 20 of 2024.
These amendments illustrate the ongoing efforts to develop and improve the legal procedures related to labor disputes while preserving the rights of all concerned parties.
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Written By:
Mr. Obada Al Khatib– Senior Legal Consultant & Head of Employment at Al Safar and Partners Law Firm