Ministry defines responsibilities, violations, administrative penalties for business centres in UAE

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) has issued a resolution outlining the responsibilities and obligations for business centres to fulfil, along with the administrative and legal penalties that would be incurred in case of violations committed by these centres or their employees.

The business centres concerned are private-sector institutions that provide support to establishments and individuals looking to avail of the Ministry’s services.

Ministerial Resolution No. (0702) of 2025 was issued as part of MoHRE’s commitment to strengthening governance across business centres and their employees, further advancing its continuous efforts to develop the legislative environment, keep pace with rapid growth in the labour market, boost efficiency across business centres, and regulate their operations to protect customers and ensure the safety, reliability, transparency, and integrity of the services provided to them.

Under the terms of the new Resolution, business centres’ responsibilities and obligations include pre-screening their employees before granting them user access to MoHRE’s systems, which authorises them to support establishments and individuals looking to avail of the Ministry’s services. Responsibilities also include maintaining the privacy of customer data, information, and documents.

Furthermore, the Resolution defines a set of violations for which administrative penalties and legal sanctions will be applied against any business centres proven to have committed them. Notable violations include operating outside the authorised scope of activity for which the centre is licenced, absence of an established and genuine employment relationship with workers registered under the centre, human trafficking crimes, employing or recruiting a worker without obtaining a work permit for them, failure to employ a worker for whom a work permit has been issued, or allowing an employee to work for other employers without meeting the necessary conditions and adjusting their status accordingly.

Providing incorrect data, documents, or information to MoHRE is also considered a violation on the part of business centres, as is engaging in ‘Fake Emiratisation’ schemes.

The Resolution went on to specify the administrative and legal actions set to be taken against business centre employees who exploit or misuse the authorisation granted to them to access the Ministry’s systems, or who enable others to do so. Such actions result in a breach of governance in government procedures, and carry a penalty that may lead to referring the employee in question to the judiciary.

WAM