If you're an expat in the UAE who
has a valid residence visa and work permit, you should be aware that to start a
part-time job, you've to get approval from the Ministry of Human Resources and
Emiratisation (MOHRE) to work part-time in another company.
Now, many questions pop into your
mind: Is there any maximum limit in the hourly rate I get from the part-time
employer? What if I receive a higher salary from my part-time employer? Is it
legal if my full-time employer pays me less salary?
This article is a complete guide
on part-time jobs in UAE:
A person must fulfill the
following conditions to be able to start a part-time job while being already
employed in the UAE:
- If the individual's regular employer (i.e., the first full-time employer) is also sponsoring the individual's residence in the UAE, he or she must first receive a no-objection certification or 'NOC' to that effect.
- The person must then sign a written contract (the "Part-Time
Contract") with the subsequent part-time employer; and
- The individual's subsequent part-time employer must then procure a
"part-time work permit" from the Ministry of Human Resources and
Emiratisation (the "MOHRE").
The terms of the Part-Time
Contract permit an employee to work for the first part-time employer for less
than eight hours a day or 48 hours a week. Those work hours, however, cannot be
fewer than 20 hours a week. This is consistent with Article 3 of the Part-Time
Employment Law, which states:
"The employee has the following options under
the part-time contract:
- To work for the original employer (first part-time employer) for less than eight hours per day or less than 48 hours a week, provided that working hours do not fall below 20 hours per week.
- To work concurrently with more than one employer (second part-time
employer) without the approval of the original employer or any other employer
with whom he is employed."
Furthermore, the MOHRE must inform
all of an individual's daily and part-time employers in the UAE, as stated in
Article 7 of the Part-Time Employment Law: "The ministry notifies every
employer (original or secondary) about any new employer of the employee, upon
obtaining by the latter a work permit from the ministry. The employee covenants
to notify every employer he works with about the same."
Furthermore, according to Article
6 of the Part-Time Employment Law, an employee hired on a part-time basis is
entitled to annual leave, end-of-service payments, and all other compensation
commensurate with his or her working hours with the corresponding part-time
employer.
Article 10 of the Part-Time
Employment Law applies to an employee who works full-time for a subsequent
part-time employer. It states that "if the Part-time Contract is chosen,
converting it to a permanent contract is not permitted until the Part-time
Contract is canceled, and each party has the right afterward to join some
desired kind of contract."
Salary & Payment Provisions
The Part-Time Employment Law
includes no rules relating to a maximum average hourly remuneration paid by an
employer to an employee. The employer and employee must follow the terms and
conditions outlined in the part-time job contract they signed and registered
with the MOHRE.
Any clauses of the employment
contract or any implied understanding between the employer and the employee
that are more beneficial to the employee shall be to the employee's benefit.
This complies with Article 7 of
the Employment Law, which states that "Terms inconsistent with the
provisions of this Law including those whose effective date may precede the
enforcement of this Law shall unless they are proved more beneficial to the
employee, be deemed null and void."
Furthermore, you are supposed to
be paid depending on the amount of hours and days you work with your first
employer.
This is in line with Part-Time
Employment Law Article 6 (a), which states: "The original employer shall
be liable for the employee's annual leave and end-of-service gratuity as well
as any other financial obligations in proportion with the actual work hours and
the wage received by the employee."
According to the above legal
clause, your original employer is required to pay you the remuneration
specified in your employment contract. If the original employer refuses to give
you payment for the total amount of hours/days you worked for the original
employer, you can file a complaint with the MOHRE.
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