Employer must provide medical insurance to employees in UAE

Every sponsor shall subscribe to the scheme for any person under his sponsorship from the date of his arrival to the State.

Q: I have been working in a construction company based in Abu Dhabi for over seven years. My employer has not been providing me with remuneration on a timely basis since two years and the employees who resigned from the company did not receive their pending salaries and end of service benefits. My employment contract and employment card expired in August 2018. My employer has not renewed my employment card and the medical insurance. However, my residence visa is valid till August 2020. Who is responsible to bear the medical insurance costs of an employee?
A: We assume that you are employed in a company based in the mainland of emirate of Abu Dhabi and therefore the applicable laws are Federal Law No. (8) of 1980 regulating employment relations in the UAE (the 'Employment Law') related to employment and Law No. (23) of 2005 regarding the health insurance scheme for the emirate of Abu Dhabi (the 'Abu Dhabi Health Insurance Law') related to health insurance. As per the Abu Dhabi Health Insurance Law, the employer may be responsible for providing health insurance for all his employees and their family members (employee's wife and three children under 18 years of age). This is in accordance with Article 5 of the Abu Dhabi Health Insurance Law which states: "Every employer shall provide health insurance coverage for all his employees/workers and their family members covering the employee's/worker's wife and three children under 18 years of age. Every sponsor shall subscribe to the scheme for any person under his sponsorship from the date of his arrival to the State unless such person is entitled for health insurance coverage by an employer. Expatriates may not be employed, issued residence permits nor have their existing permits renewed unless they are subscribed to the health insurance scheme."
Further, it may be noted that it is illegal to work in the UAE without a valid work permit issued by Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (the 'MOHRE'). This is in accordance with Article 13 of the Employment Law which states: "No non-national may be recruited for work in the UAE without the prior approval of the Ministry and without first obtaining a work permit in accordance with the procedures and regulations laid down by the MOHRE. Such permit shall not be granted unless the following conditions are fulfilled:
1-That the employee possesses the professional competence or educational qualification which the country is in need of;
2-That the employee has lawfully entered the country and satisfies the conditions prescribed in the residence regulations in force in the State."
Therefore, it may be noted that upon the expiry of your employment contract and work permit, if your employer is eager to continue with your employment, then he should renew them by following the draft of the Standard Employment Contract. This is in accordance with Article 3 of Ministerial Decree (764) of 2015 on MOHRE approved Standard Employment Contracts which states: "The Standard Employment Contracts referenced in Article 1 must be used upon renewing contracts that are in force prior to the issuance of this decree."
Since your employer has not terminated your employment contract, you may still continue to work for him without the execution of a new job contract. In this scenario, the terms and conditions of your expired employment contract is deemed to be extended. This is in accordance with Article 40 of the Employment Law which states:
"Where the parties to the contract continue - after expiry of its initial term or completion of the work agreed upon - to perform the contract without explicit agreement, the original contract shall be deemed to have been extended on the same conditions except for the term."
Based on the aforementioned provision of the Abu Dhabi Health Insurance Law, the employer is under an obligation to provide medical insurance to his employees and his family members as mentioned above until such employee's residence visa in the UAE is sponsored by his employer. Furthermore, based on the aforementioned provisions of the Employment Law and Ministerial Decree, upon expiry of your employment contract you may approach the MOHRE and lodge a complaint against your employer for non-renewal of employment contract and medical insurance.
Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and India. Full details of his firm on: www.amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai