Picture for illustrative purposes only. ARCHIVE

The UAE has amended its federal decree law to speed up the process of resolving disputes involving domestic workers, authorities announced on Tuesday (August 13). Under the amended law, all domestic worker disputes shall be taken up at the Court of First Instance as a last resort. Previously, court cases were referred to the Court of Appeal. A case will only reach the court if no amicable settlement was reached between the employer and the worker at the Ministry Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre). Following the amended law, the Court of Appeal will transfer all pending applications, disputes, and grievances to the Court of First Instance with no fees, effective from the date the present law takes effect. However, this transfer does not apply to cases that already have a sentence from a judge or are pending in the court’s pipeline for sentencing. Under existing laws, MOHRE will hear and resolve domestic worker disputes on cases not exceeding Dh50,000 or if the dispute involves non-compliance with a prior decision issued by MOHRE. The parties involved in the dispute may file a lawsuit at the Court of First Instance to contest the ministry’s decision on the matter. The dispute must be filed within 15 working days of receiving notification of MOHRE’s decision. Filing a lawsuit will suspend the enforcement of the Ministry's decision. If the dispute between employer, domestic worker or recruitment company is not resolved amicably at MOHRE within the designated timeframe, then the authority will refer the dispute to the Court of First Instance. The ruling of the Court of First Instance in the case is final.
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