Employer of Record UAE (EOR Dubai)

• Quick, flexible, and easy entry into Dubai, UAE, and the GCC region in compliance with local employment laws
• Complete control over business development with your own team
• Good option for building up, managing, and supporting your distributors and key accounts by directly observing local developments and adjusting the strategy whenever necessary
• Using our comprehensive recruitment experience for international clients, we can form a local team that fits your corporate culture.
• Focusing on your core business instead of dealing with the time-consuming and complex local administrative tasks
• Allowing for easy market exit if necessary
• Integrating your employees into our team through motivational events and special meetings
• Providing a class-A office and a professional work environment.
• We are the preferred partner for employee leasing of the German Emirati Joint Council for Industry and Commerce (AHK)

According to the rules of Dubai Free Zones, each employee must rent a certain amount of office space in order to get a visa and a permit to live there. Renting office space is therefore required.

• Workplace in our office in Swiss Tower, Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) – directly across from Dubai Marina
• Internet access
• Telephone line and answering service
• Heating and cooling in every room
• Office cleaning service

UAE is a popular hub in the Middle East due to its geographical advantage, political stability, sophisticated infrastructure, and liberal economic policies.

• It is the primary gateway to the 56 million-person GCC countries

• The UAE offers oil & gas production in addition to tourism, retail, trade, logistics & transportation, financial services, and construction.
• Dubai is the preferred location in the Middle East due to its international business environment, modern architecture, entertainment & dining venues, shopping centers, and modern health & education systems.
• Dubai’s airport is the largest in the UAE, with many direct international connections
• If you are looking for specific information, our  Market Research Team can support you.
• Our experts can also support you in defining the right Internationalization Strategy

Written employment contracts are mandatory in the UAE and need to be in compliance with the UAE Labor Law.

Previously, employers could choose between indefinite and fixed-term contracts. But a change in the UAE labor law has abolished the option of agreeing on indefinite employment contracts. All employment contracts need to be fixed term with a duration of up to three years. The fixed-term employment contract can be renewed unlimited times. Usually, there is a clause in the contracts, that the contract will be renewed automatically if not terminated 30 days before the contract ends.

The standard probation period is 3 months in the UAE. It is also the default probation period if the length is not defined in the employment contract. The maximum possible probation period in the UAE is 6 months.

The UAE Labor Law allows employers to include a non-compete clause in employment agreements. These clauses should only be as restrictive as needed to safeguard the legitimate business interests of the employer. The clause needs to define the duration, location, and job nature of the restriction. The longest period for such restrictions is two years following the end of the employment agreement.

The UAE changed the work week in 2023 to Monday until Friday (formerly Sunday to Thursday), Friday afternoon is officially a holiday. In private companies, employees often work on Fridays as a full day, but this depends on the company policy.

In the private sector, the standard work duration is set at eight hours daily for 5 or 6 days per week, for office jobs 5 days per week is common. However, during the month of Ramadan, there’s a reduction of two hours in the daily working time.

There is currently no personal income tax in the United Arab Emirates. As such, there are no individual tax registration or reporting obligations.

• The salary consists of a base salary and optional allowances for accommodation, transportation, and food and sometimes also for a private health insurance
• To pay a yearly flight ticket home for the employee and family is common.
• A private health insurance for the employee is mandatory, without private health insurance no visa will be issued.
• A basic health insurance package for an employee is already available for around USD 250-300 (year 2023) per year.
• For sales employees and sales managers, it is common to provide a proper insurance package that costs a couple of thousand USD per year. This insurance can be provided only for the employee or for spouse and children as well. It should be defined during the contract negotiation with the employee.

Pretty much all foreign companies are hiring foreigners for their companies. The employer (sponsor) has to arrange a visa for the employee. Nowadays, two years visa are common.

The visa can be provided for the employee only, or for the spouse and children as well (dependents visa). This has to be considered during the contract negotiation with the employee.

There are 15 public holidays in the United Arab Emirates. Some of these holidays, like Eid Al-Fitr, Day of Arafah, Eid Al-Adha, Islamic New Year, and The Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday, are determined by moon sightings and can vary each year. The holidays in the UAE are:

• New Year’s Day: January 1
• Eid al-Fitr (4 days)
• Arafat Day
• Eid al-Adha (4 days)
• Islamic New Year
• Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday
• Commemoration Day: December 1
• National Day: December 2
• National Day: December 3

The standard annual leave is 30 calendar days in the UAE. In the first six months of service, employees are not entitled to annual leave. Between 6 and 12 months of service, employees are entitled to a minimum of 2 days per month of service. Annual leave is calculated based on calendar days including public holidays and weekends.

• Maternity Leave for Mothers: Women with a continuous service of at least one year in a company qualify for 45 days of paid maternity leave. Those with less than a year’s tenure receive the same duration of leave but at half the pay. Additionally, they have the option to extend this leave by another 10 days, albeit without pay. After childbirth, for a period of up to 18 months, mothers are allowed two nursing breaks, each lasting up to 30 minutes.
• Paternity Leave for Fathers: UAE regulations grant fathers a paternity leave of five days, which should be availed within the first six months following the child’s birth.
• Hajj Leave: Employees wishing to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca can opt for up to 30 days of unpaid leave.

After three months of service and after the probation period, employees are entitled to up to 90 days of sick leave per year. During the first 15 days, the employee receives the full salary. Between 15 and 45 days, employees receive their half-salary. After 45 days, no salary is paid. To receive salary during sick leave, employees need to bring a medical report. If an employee is on sick leave for more than 90 days, the employment can be terminated. In this case, the employee is still entitled to end-of-service payment.

Employers can terminate an employment contract at any time, following the notice period defined in the employment contract (between 1 and 3 months). Terminations without notice must be for cause.

Employees are entitled to severance payment, which is

• 21 working days of base salary for each of the first five years of service
• additional 30 working days of base salary per year of service over five years
• The maximum severance is 2 annual salaries.

Client situation: A U.S.-based provider of worldwide consultancy services and market intelligence chose to enter the Middle East market with their own Business Development Manager.

Project scope: Recruitment of a Business Development Manager via FMC Human Resources, employed by FMC Group in Dubai using our Employer of Record Dubai service.

Result: The Business Development Manager travels throughout the entire GCC region to recruit new clients and maintain and expand relationships with the existing customer base. After less than six months, our client chose to augment their consulting team in Dubai with an extra consultant.