Dubai acts to increase protection for all gov't employees

The Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on Wednesday issued a new resolution to increase employment protection for Dubai Government employees.

Under Resolution No (62) of 2016, a framework is outlined for a compensation system for occupational injuries and diseases alongside the creation of a safe work environment and rehabilitation for occupational injuries and diseases.

An injured employee will receive full salary for a period not exceeding one year, or until proven fit, disabled or until death, whichever comes first.

If the treatment requires more than one year, the case of the national employee will be referred to the General Pension and Social Security Authority and the Federal Medical Committee formed.

If the employee is expatriate, the case will be referred to the medical committee to look into extending his or her treatment period for a maximum of one more year.

In such cases, the employee receives 75 percent of his or her total salary. The committee may also recommend terminating his or her contract and in such cases, the employee receives a six-month notice or salary for six months.

The resolution also states that the injured employee will receive compensation for partial disability, full disability or death due to occupational injury or disease. In such cases, the compensation is three years’ salary, but not less than AED200,000 and not more than AED1,000,000.

The resolution demands that all government entities must provide a secure work environment that ensures safety, health and welfare of people at work and direct their employees to adhere to safety and health procedure.

The government entities must provide the conditions for occupational safety and health, create and update safety procedures and provide any related training required for employees, a statement said.

According to the resolution, government entities must monitor employees while they are carrying out their jobs to reduce risk of occupational injuries and diseases, ensure proper functioning of personal and public safety equipment, analyse industrial accidents, take required measures to ensure such accidents do not occur again, suspend work if there is any risk to employees’ safety, increase awareness and train employees on safety procedures.

The resolution also specifies the employee’s responsibilities, which include taking all required precautionary measures, following safety procedures and safety and health instructions when operating heavy equipment and machinery, reporting any equipment and machinery malfunction to the direct supervisor, following the department’s approved safety procedures and using personal protection equipment.

The employee is also responsible for staying away from any physical danger during work, maintaining the safety of the equipment, tools and machinery used at work, following the occupational safety and health procedures outlined by the department and undergoing periodic medical checkups.

Pursuant to the resolution, the injured employee must notify his or her department about any occupational injury within one week of the date of the injury. Failure to do so and the department does not hold any responsibility.

The resolution also says that the employee and his or her heirs lose the right to compensation if the injury was caused due to intentional bad behaviour; if the accident occurred when under the influence of alcohol or drugs; or if the employee did not follow safety and health procedures.

It will be published in the Official Gazette and is effective from the date of publication.