In an interesting development, the UAE government has published an amendment to the new Labour Law, which came into force 8 months ago, in particular clause (3) of Article (8) titled “Employment Contract”. Clause (3) of Article (8) stipulated that employment contracts shall be signed for a definite and renewable period but not exceeding (3) three years.

As per the recent amendment (Federal Decree by Law No. 14 of 2022), the (3) years cap has been lifted. Clause (3) now only stipulates that the employment contract shall be signed for a definite and renewable period based upon the parties’ agreement (employer and employee).

It is worth noting that a 1-year grace period was given to employers to adjust their statuses and switch their unlimited term contracts to limited term contracts, starting from its date of enforcement (Art 68.2).

With almost 4 months left, some employers have already adjusted their employment contracts and complied with the new provisions.
This is a space to watch as this amendment will drive further updates to related legislation.