Employers asked to give report of absentee workers

As per the new rules from UAE Ministry of Labour all employers must inform the ministry  about any employee who is absent from the job for more than seven consecutive days without giving any leave application and an acceptable reason.

The director of the labour offices department at the ministry - Aisha Mohammed Bel Harfiya said that reporting about employees who did not show up to the work for more than seven days in a series was a red line which should not be overstepped. The reporting would help the ministry to track them down and help avoid the employee getting into any illegal activities inside the country.

“The Labour Ministry should be notified in the case of termination of the labour contract, either by the employee or the employer,” Bel Harfiya said. 

The action was one of the measures which had been approved by the labour ministry, in coordination with the UAE Ministry of Interior, with the aim of clearing the employer of any responsibility, if the employee did happen to get into any legal problems, she said.

An employer must also inform the UAE Ministry of Labour once a worker stops working for them, in order to avoid any similar responsibilities. This would mean that the employee’s residence visa would then become invalid, meaning he or she would not be allowed to stay inside the country.

“The grace period of not more than 60 days after the expiry of the labour card is available to get it renewed by the company without getting fines.”