MOHRE to enforce Mid-day work Prohibition Commencing from June 15, 2021

MOHRE to enforce Mid-day work Prohibition Commencing from June 15, 2021

Starting from June 15th, 2021, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emigration (MoHRE) will apply a prohibition on work conducted in the open and under the sun from 12:30 PM to 3:00 PM, as until September 15th, 2021.

In accordance with the ruling, daily working hours must not exceed eight hours per day, for shifts beginning in the morning, in the evening, or both. If a worker works more than eight hours in a day and during a day that exceeds 24 hours, then that time will be overtime, for which the worker should be paid in line with the regulations governing labour relations as stated in the Federal Law about the Regulation of Labour Relations.

In case any establishment found to violate the terms and conditions of the order must pay a fine of AED 5,000 per employee and up to AED 50,000 in total for numerous employees, with the amount doubling if more than one employee works there during the time the ban is in effect.

Additionally, the breaching establishment's file in the MOHRE classification system, which was established by the Ministry, may be suspended, or its classified status will be downgraded in the MoHRE classification system, based on how grave the breach is.

In accordance with the terms of the judgment, employers must display a schedule of daily working hours in a prominent location in the workplace, and further, the schedule must be printed in the workers' native language, which they understand.

The decision further stipulates that employers are required to provide appropriate protective devices to help workers protect themselves from the injuries they might suffer due to the use of tools and other machinery, and they must also follow all the other methods of protection established in Labour Law and ministry regulations. All workers are asked to obey safety instructions that aim to protect them from risk and to refrain from doing anything that might negatively impact the implementation of such instructions.

The Ministry issued a call to action, encouraging the public to report all instances of non-compliance by dialling the toll-free number, 80060, which is open 24 hours a day in four different languages.