Sheikh Mohammed issues new law on working in UAE

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Monday issued two decrees supporting people with disabilities. The first concerns providing equal opportunities for employment.    

Ministerial Decree No. 43 of 2018, published in the federal gazette, supports the rights of persons with disabilities or people of determination, by enabling them to access equal opportunities in the labour market compared to others.

The decision also stressed on the need to provide suitable working and health conditions for people with disabilities, calling for establishments to grant them exemptions and privileges wherever necessary.

It also supports those who wish to establish their own business.

The decree stressed that such persons should not be terminated nor forced to retire, especially if they sustained the disability after they were hired. They should retire when they are of the age or when they are deemed as unfit for work by a medical committee. 

The private sector was urged to integrate such persons into their establishments and providing the proper environment to enable them to work.

Hiring practices should be transparent and conducted with utmost care to ensure that prejudicial or biased perceptions of such persons' abilities does not affect the outcome of the interview. 

Such persons will be judged on their capacity to fulfill the job description, and not the mechanics of how they will accomplish it. 

They should also be given ample opportunity for promotions, as well as given proper support in attending and presenting at conferences, workshops and events.

The Ministry of Community Development will be cooperating with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre), and the Federal Human Resources Authority (Fahr) to determine the reasonable measures which can be undertaken in providing proper work environments for such employees. 

Sign language lexicon

The second Ministerial Decree No. 38 of 2018 is regarding the adoption of an Emirati sign language lexicon for the hearing impaired.

The Emirati sign language lexicon will contain 21 chapters, including the alphabet, numbers, official documents, tourist attractions, ministries, institutions, authorities, clothes, accessories, folk dishes, family, common actions, descriptions, states, directions, manner, colors, the home and its accessories, titles, professions, education, units of measurement, health, oceans, environments, animals, plants, and sports.