Robustly managing health and safety hazards and health and safety risk is an essential component of business for all companies operating within the UAE.
As any health and safety consultant or professional will tell you. There are many reasons to develop and implement a robust health and safety management system.
Any NEBOSH course will tell you the 3 main pillars of why we manage risk; moral, financial and legal reasons.
As regards the legal reasons, if you are operating within the UAE you must also be aware of the all applicable health and safety laws. This can be complex with many laws. Emirate specific, Federal, applicable to their licenced activities, or within their Freezone. All containing articles which need to be read and understood to ensure that they remain compliant.
Not understanding all of the various health and safety laws is no excuse. This will leave a company exposed to authorities scrutiny and possibly liable to civil and/or criminal prosecutions.
Main Health and Safety law in the UAE
Health and Safety law in the UAE is comprised of various federal levels laws. Ie. applicable for all companies in all Emirates. Additionally, various Emirate level laws will also apply. The level of compliance required by a company to these laws will differ dependant on licensing jurisdiction. Additionally, licenced activities, number of staff, staff designated and whether premises are owned or rented.
Many international companies chose to engage the services of a licenced and experienced Health and Safety Consultant. The safety Consultant will sift through the laws and ascertain what is applicable to them for their UAE operations. Creating a Legal & Other Register to define where compliance is required.
– The main Health and safety laws in the UAE are primarily derived from the recently updated Article 13 of Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations in the Private Sector. Also called the UAE labour law. Which is applicable to almost all companies and all employees working in the UAE, save for a number of specific carve outs
– There are then various other Ministerial Decisions, Decrees, Resolutions and Codes of Practice. Which any competent Safety Consultant should be able to guide a company through
– This law includes articles and clauses that both the employer and the employee must comply with
Employer’s Obligations
Employer’s obligations as regards occupational health and safety include:
– Providing a safe work environment for all employees
– Providing the necessary means of protecting workers from the hazards of occupational injuries and diseases that may occur during work. This can include physical means such as PPE (personal protective equipment) Or the use of barriers and protective guards where necessary
– The placing of instructional boards and awareness materials informing employees as to health and safety risk. Made available in languages and formats that can be understood by all employees
– Conducting periodic evaluations of the working tasks and working environment (health and safety risk assessments)
– Providing training to employees on the health and safety risks present in their workplace and how to avoid such risks (usually on the results of the risk assessments during induction training for new staff
Worker’s Obligations
Employees obligations as regards occupational health and safety include:
– To utilize the PPE (personal protective equipment) or any other safety equipment supplied to the employee and not alter it any way
– To comply fully with all instructions given by the company as regards occupational health and safety
– Report any unsafe act, near miss or unsafe equipment immediately
– Employees must not undertake any act which risks the health and safety of themselves, others or company equipment
Some of the Other Federal UAE Laws as regards Occupational Health and Safety are below
o Articles 13, 36 Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations in the Private Sector Articles 22 and 26 of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on Implementation of Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 Administrative Decision No. 19 of 2023 Relating to Occupational Safety and Health and Labour Accommodation
o Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022 Regarding Occupational Health and Safety and Labour Accommodation
Other Employer Health and Safety Obligations Include
Establishments with in excess of 50 employees must have a developed and implemented occupational health and safety management system in place. Their system should include:
– An update risk assessment of hazards in the working tasks and environments
– The necessary preventive tools and training programmes for any employee engaged in high-risk activities
– The mechanisms are in place to report incidents of work injuries and occupational diseases within the firms
– That mechanisms are in place to investigate incidents of workplace injuries and occupational diseases
– That records of workers exposed to occupational hazards for a period of not less than 5 years after the termination of employment are kept
Compensation for work injuries and occupational diseases
Compensation from an employer to an employee will be due to be paid for any work-related illness or injury. The compensation is paid according to the articles outlined in Article 37 of Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 Regarding the Regulation of Employment Relationship.
The employee should receive their compensation within a maximum period of 10 (ten) days after the release of the medical report indicating the harm that was caused to the employee as a results of the occupational health and safety at work incident. The schedules of payments are contained within the Annexes within Cabinet Resolution No. 33 of 2022 Concerning Work injuries and Occupational diseases
Amounts of compensation for occupational health and safety at work incidents
If the occupational health and safety accident or incident results in the employees death, the compensation is equal to 2 years of basic wage for the employee as per their employment contract.
There is a minimum amount of compensation to be paid regardless of the basic wage in the employment contract. This amount is AED 18,000 (eighteen thousand) The maximum amount of compensation which should be paid is set at AED 200,000 (two hundred thousand).
If an employee sustains a permanent complete disability, the compensation to be paid by the employer will be equal to the amount due in the event of their death.
For partial disabilities, partial payments will be due to be made.
For more information about how work injuries and occupational diseases, you can refer to the Ministerial Resolution No. 657 of 2022 on Rules and Guidelines to Deal with Work Injuries and Occupational Diseases
Mid-day break rule for workers under the sun
Neither construction nor industrial workers are permitted to work during the hottest hours of the day during the summer.
According to Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022, all work performed directly under the sun and in open places shall not be allowed between the hottest hours of 12.30 pm to 3 pm from 15 June to 15 September every year.
Companies are required to provide shaded areas for their employees to rest during rest periods in the summer. Details of this can be found in Article 11 of Administrative Decision No. 19 of 2023 Relating to Occupational Safety and Health and Labour Accommodation (PD
Occupational Health and Safety Officer
Every industrial establishment, and all establishments operating in the construction sector employing 100 workers or more, must appoint an Occupational Health and Safety Officer with a minimum of a NEBOSH IGC and commensurate experience necessary for the work.
The Health and Safety Officer will carry out the tasks in relation to the prevention of illness and injury at work.
For more information on the provisions of the occupational health and safety officer, see Article 2 of Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022 and the responsibilities of the health and safety officer in Administrative Decision No. 19 of 2023 Relating to Occupational Safety and Health and Labour Accommodation.
Reporting Occupational Health and Safety Breaches
Police by dialling 999 in case of serious incident, accident or fatality
Otherwise, within the UAE, reporting of work related injuries and occupational diseases should be conducted via the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE). Reporting can be done through any of the following channels:
– The digital system for MoHRE’s services
– Business service centres, which are approved by MoHRE
– The MoHRE’s app on App Store
Sounds a lot ! What are the general elements as regards Health and Safety Law ?
A UAE company’s general commitments as regards to health and safety include:
– Delivering to staff health and safety training on how where the risk lies in their activities and operations and how to manage or mitigate those risks (Health and safety Induction training)
– Occupational health and safety risk assessment of the working environment, operations and activities
– Development of procedures and training on how to manage any emergencies that may arise in the workplace. Ie. a health and safety policy or staff handbook
– Where required. The displaying of health and safety requirements clearly on sites in both Arabic, English and any other language understandable by the employees
– Ensuring that necessary measures of protection from health and safety risks are in place. This can include; giving the employee free of charge Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Setting up of barriers around hazardous equipment and machinery, taking the necessary precautions regarding the storage and disposal of hazardous materials
– Reporting to the Ministry of Labour (MOHRE) any accident or incident at work resulting in an employee’s death, that involves fire or an explosion, or which renders an employee unable to attend work for three consecutive days (Cabinet resolution no. 33 of 2022 concerning work injuries and occupational diseases)
– Ensuring that every First Aid kit includes specified contents and is regularly inspected (Article 4 of Ministerial Decision No. 32/182)
Welfare Facilites
– Ensuring that adequate welfare facilities are in place. That these facilities are kept clean, ventilated, illuminated, have rest and eating areas, potable water and toilet and hand washing facilities. (Article 5 of Ministerial Decision No. 32/1982 and Article 2 of Ministerial Decision No. 27/1/1981)
– That companies with more than 150 employees are required to employ a full time safety officer, assigned to supervise the implementation of UAE health and safety law (Article 26 of Ministerial Decision No. 32/1982)
What practical steps can Employers take to aid with Health and Safety ?
Initially a company should assess their risk. This is done via risk assessments. The undertaking of risk assessments is further mandated via Labour Law.
The company’s in house HSE Manager, or an Health and Safety Consultant from a professionally licenced consultancy. Such as Corporate OHS Safety Consultants, would:
– Assess the company work activities and areas of occupational health and safety risk to employees
– Develop a Legal Register showing where compliance to health and safety law must be applied. Via the companies licencing and activities
– Developing safe systems of work and standard operating procedures to control work activities.
– Developing emergency procedures, including evacuation plans. Ensuring that if an emergency did occur, then there was a plan in place for employees to follow
– Train employees on the risks identified in the occupational health and safety risk assessment, and the control measures required to conduct work activities safely
What are the consequences of failing to comply with health and safety laws ?
Failure to comply with the mandated health and safety requirements may result in:
– Criminal sanctions. The police will conduct a formal investigation into any incident or accident and retain the passports of all employees they consider responsible for the incident such as HR or Operations Managers. We are now seeing cases of the Police wanting to know who the company owner is also.
– If referred to the public prosecutor and then criminal court. A penalty of two year’s imprisonment and a fine of up to 10,000,000 AED may be imposed
– Civil compensatory damages. Subject to the nature and severity of the incident
– Paying of blood money (Diya). Where there is a fatality at work in addition to statutory compensation. Under UAE law equivalent to 24 months’ basic salary at the time of death (Article 149 of UAE Labour Law)
– Negative publicity. Which can impact upon the ability to retain and recruit staff, brand recognition, and attainment of new business and future revenue
Ministry of Labour Inspectors can enter and inspect workplaces at any time. Without prior notice and impose any measures aimed at averting any health and safety risk to employees. This is regardless of whether a workplace accident has actually occurred or not.
Corporate OHS – Health and Safety
If you are looking for an Safety Consultant in the UAE. Corporate OHS is a Health and Safety Consultancy services provider whose HSE Consultants offer expert resources and superior performance to give you greater results.
We specialize in creating workable, user friendly solutions aligned to your business activities, operations and budget.
Our range of health and safety consultancy services includes;
– Health and Safety Risk Assessments
– Hazard identification and control measure implementation
– Gap Analysis
– Audits and compliance audits
– HSE management system development, implementation and review. To include locally compliant systems such as OSHAD or OSHJ and/or accredited systems such as ISO 45001, ISO 14001,
ISO 9001 and ISO 50001
– HSE legal compliance reviews and assistance
– Accident investigations
– Business continuity and crisis management
– Long term or project based HSE outsourcing
– Flexible monthly support retainers giving access to HSE service without the burden of a permanent cost
To find out more about our services. Please visit our website www.corporateohs.com or send an email to enquiries@corporateohs.com, or call 00 971 4 550 7862.
