“Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation”: “Midday break rule” Ends This Sunday

Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) has announced that the rule, which prohibits any labor work under sunlight and outdoors, will end after the noon of the day after tomorrow; (Sunday) September 15, at 3pm.

The rule has been put into effect since last 15^th June. By the virtue of this rule; labor work was prohibited under sunlight and outdoors from 12.30 pm till 3 pm, except for the works the necessitate the work continuity without interruption for technical reasons and provided that cool water in proportion to the number of workers in addition to complying to the general health and safety regulations and the provision thirst-quenching drinks and materials such as salts, lemon and etc. as approved by the local authorities in the UAE.

The rule application’s period witnessed a series of events organized by MOHRE in cooperation with its partners such as organizing field visits to work sites, awareness-raising workshops on the rule, educational lectures, provision of medical consultations on the risks of heat exhaustion, how to prevent it, and the methods of handling emergencies, and many other events in different languages.

MOHRE fostered the principle of partnership with society through the oversight of the rule application. As the Ministry allowed the members of the society to communicate with it through a call center (80060) to report on any case of work during the midday and follow up the reports.

Pursuant to the rule, violating companies will be fined Dhs 5000 per worker and a maximum of 50,000 if the case involves a large number of workers are working during the ban period. In addition, the violating company’s file shall be suspended or degraded in the company classification system adopted by MOHRE, according to the gravity of the offence committed.

The Ministry has applied a transparent mechanism in its dealing with the violating companies. The mechanism is based on the inspector’s detection of the violation in the work site and taking photos as evidence then investigating the violation before its proving. The relevant comparing shall have the right to appeal within 30 days of imposing the violation through filing an application with supporting documents to be studied by a special committee to take a final decision.