Legal services
Practical labour law advice for employers and employees under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.
We advise on every stage of the employment relationship, from offer letters and policies to termination, end-of-service benefits and labour court claims. Employers get compliant documents; employees get clear advice on their rights.
The UAE labour law changed substantially with Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and its executive regulations. Fixed-term contracts, flexible work models, longer notice periods, anti-discrimination rules and a clearer regime for end-of-service gratuity all arrived together. The DIFC and ADGM apply their own employment laws. An employer who still runs on old templates, or an employee who relies on what a colleague was paid years ago, is often surprised. Good advice at the right time saves both sides a long dispute.
Khalifa Al Sada Advocates & Legal Consultants handles labour matters daily for companies and individuals across the Emirates. We give practical, well-detailed advice with cost in mind, from the hiring process to the consequences of the end of the contract, and we represent clients before the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation and the labour courts.
We advise:
For employers we draft compliant employment contracts and offer letters, employee handbooks, remote and part-time work arrangements, confidentiality and non-compete clauses that will actually be enforced, and the paperwork for warnings, investigations and terminations. We advise on Emiratisation targets, work permits, redundancy and the transfer of staff when a business is sold, and we review existing handbooks to identify what needs updating after the 2021 law.
For employees we review contracts before signature, calculate end-of-service entitlements, and advise on unfair or arbitrary dismissal, unpaid salary, non-compete restrictions and disputes over commission or bonus. When a claim is unavoidable we file the complaint with the Ministry, attend the conciliation, and, if it is referred, litigate before the labour court and the appeal court. Labour claims have short time limits, so early advice matters.
Our lawyers plead labour cases before the onshore courts every week and know how judges read a contract, a warning letter and a resignation. That experience shapes the advice we give at the drafting stage, which is where most disputes are won or avoided.
We work in Arabic and English, with dedicated desks for Russian, Indian and Turkish clients, and we keep our advice practical: what the law requires, what the court is likely to do, and what it will cost.
We read the contract, the policies and the correspondence and set out the rights and obligations of each side.
We explain what the law requires, the likely outcome and the cost of each route, whether negotiation, Ministry complaint or court.
We file or answer the complaint with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation and attend the conciliation on your behalf.
If the matter is referred, we litigate before the labour court and enforce or defend the judgment.
For a full-time employee it is 21 days of basic wage for each of the first five years of service and 30 days for each year after that, capped at two years of wages. Part-time staff receive a proportion.
Between 30 and 90 days as stated in the contract. During probation the employer gives 14 days; an employee leaving to join another UAE employer gives one month.
Only if it is limited in time, place and type of work, and protects a legitimate interest. The maximum is two years. Courts read these clauses narrowly.
Yes. A claim must be brought within one year of the date the entitlement fell due. Do not wait.
Insights
13 Jul 2026 7 min read
How an employment contract ends lawfully in the UAE private sector: the grounds for termination, the notice period, end-of-service gratuity, dismissal without notice, compensation for unfair dismissal and the one-year time limit for claims.
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