Dr Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Mannan Al Awar announces the details of the new Federal Decree-Law during a media briefing in Dubai on Monday. WAM

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation on Monday announced that the working systems of the public and private sectors would be unified in the UAE.

The news was announced with a decree that would come into effect from Feb.2, 2022. The decision was taken to minimise the difference between the public and private sectors in the country.

According to the new system, public and private sector employees will get similar leave and follow a similar work system, that is the flexible, part-time and temporary work.

The Federal Decree-Law No.47 for 2021 is the first of its kind to unify the general regulations of work in the UAE under a contractual relation between employers and employees based on a labour contract of definite period, said Dr Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Mannan Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation.

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The conditions, regulations and procedures of contracting as well as the obligations of the two parties are defined in the human resources law for federal government employees and by work relations law for private sector employees, he added.

Al Awar said so during the media briefing held on Monday to announce the details of the federal decree-law, which was approved by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and will take effect from February 2, 2022.

The new decree-law is aimed at creating balance and integration between public and private sectors with respect to leaves, holidays and working hours.

According to the new decree-law, ordinary working hours will not exceed 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week and employees will get at least one day-off per week. The law also specifies the hours in which work is banned and the overtime that may be worked as well as the related wages.

The rights of all UAE employees are also specified in the decree-law with respect to wages and end-of-service gratuity, where employees can get their wages in dirham or another currency as agreed in the labour contract.

As for end-of service gratuity, an employee shall be entitled to the pay of 21 days of the base salary for the first 5 years and the pay of 30 days per year for the following years.

As per the law, a foreign worker who has worked full-time and who has completed one year or more of continuous service with an establishment, shall be paid end-of-service benefits calculated according to the basic wage, with a wage of 21 days for each of the first five years of service and 30 days for each subsequent year.

Employees in both the sectors will get the same end-of-service benefits and opportunities.

Last week, the UAE slashed its official working week to four-and-a-half days and moved its weekend to Saturday and Sunday in a major shift aimed at improving competitiveness.