Lifting of Labour ban for Professionals

Employees with Professional Qualifications will be able to lift labour ban in UAE for some cases. In this case a personal manager in Abu Dhabi with MBA degree working under an unlimited contract for the last eight months want to change his job. The following details advises the possibilities arising in such situation and the available options for him to join a new job in UAE.

MBA in UAE

An individual may resign from your employment serving a 30 days' notice to your company since you are on an unlimited contract. It is in accordance with Article 117 (1) of the Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 (Labour Law), which says: "Both the employer and the worker may terminate a contract of employment of unlimited duration for a valid reason at any time following its conclusion by giving the other party notice in writing at least 30 days before the termination."

Given that you haven't finished one year of service, an automatic 6 months or one year labour ban may be made by the Ministry of Labour by the request of your employer. No employment visa will be issued to you until the time period for the ban is completed.

Having said that, it is usually observed that your chosen prospective employer may take initiatives to lift the ban by proving that you'll be given a salary as per the prescribed norms. The ministerial order No. 1186 of 2010 sets down the conditions to impose and lift a work ban.

Pursuant to this ministerial order, even if a labour ban gets imposed, the ban may be subsequently lifted if the individual is eligible for the salary requirements. According to Article (4) of the ministerial order which says: "As an exception to the provision of Item No (2) of Article 2 of this Resolution, the Ministry may issue a work permit to an employee without requiring the two-year period in the following cases:

a) In the event that the employee is starting his new position at the first, second or third professional levels after fulfilling the conditions for joining any of these levels according to the rules in force at the ministry, and provided that his new wage is not less than Dh12,000 at the first professional level, Dh7,000 at the second professional level and Dh5,000 at the third professional level."


For this reason, as a holder of an MBA degree your would-be employer should provide you with a salary payment of at least Dirhams 12,000 in order to have the labour ban lifted for you.