New guidelines on worker-related rule violations

Dubai: The Ministry of Labour has finalised new penalties, to be implemented in August, for a range of worker-related rule violations, a senior official has said.

The guidelines will be issued to the public next week on how the new system will work.

According to the new resolution, which will take effect from August 1, companies will face 17 new fines for breaking the labour law.

“There will be 17 new fines in addition to the previous three fines for issuing and renewing labour cards which were implemented on January 2011,” a Ministry of Labour official said.

The new set of fines will include a penalty for companies of Dh20,000 for not abiding by rules regarding the employment of Emiratis such as registering the Emirati workers with the Retirement and Insurance Authority.

Any company that delays the payment of a worker’s wages for 60 days will now face fines up to Dh5,000 per worker, and in cases where multiple workers have not been paid, the maximum fine that can be imposed on the a company is Dh50,000.

Companies found to be violating the midday break rule will face a fine of Dh15,000 and there will also be a Dh20,000 fine per case when incorrect information is entered into the wage protection system (WPS).

Dh5,000 fines per worker will be issued for fake worker-signed receipts confirming they have been paid wages, with a maximum limit of Dh50,000 in cases that involve multiple workers.

Companies will also be fined Dh20,000 for not using any hired worker for a period of two months.

“We will follow up the companies to be sure of their adhering to the Ministry of Labour’s rules and regulations,” an official from the Ministry of Labour told Gulf News yesterday.

The Ministry will monitor companies operating in the UAE and fine those who break the rules.