Ministry of Human Resources announces adoption of new residency standards related to support service workers

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation announced the adoption of new residency standards covering support service workers hired by families in the UAE for two years. This comes in implementation of the executive regulations of the Law on Support Service Workers issued by the UAE Cabinet.

Khalil Khoury, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation for Assistant Labour Affairs, said that the new standards are based on studies on the cost of living and salaries of individuals and families that meet their basic needs, as well as their ability to fulfil their legal obligations and the rights of domestic workers, such as providing a decent working environment and appropriate healthcare.

Khoury stressed that based these studies, the executive regulations specify a monthly income for an individual or family of AED 25,000 or more, which must include the salaries of all employed family members and any allowances, such as housing allowance, as a condition of acceptance.

Khoury also pointed out that the regulations take into account health patients with approved medical certificates that require a worker to care for them and take care of their affairs, provided that relevant family members or individual have an income of over AED 15,000 per month.

Khoury further added that the “Tadbeer services centres” provide families who do not meet the criteria with two alternative packages that guarantee qualified workers at a lower cost. The first package provides a worker registered with the centre to work for a contractual period where workers are not allowed to live in the employer’s residence. The second package provides a registered worker to work on an hourly, daily or weekly basis.

The regulations also stipulate that workers’ contracts can be extended for two years. The ministry obliges recruitment agencies that recruit workers or hire them temporarily, whether "Tadbeer" or other centers, to refund the full cost of recruitment or part of it to the employer, according to the remaining period of the employment contract.

The reimbursement of recruitment costs to the employer or the provision of another worker shall be in accordance with the latter’s desire in the event of four cases occurring during the first six months of the contract “the probation period”. These cases include the worker terminating the contract without a legitimate reason, leaving work without an acceptable reason, lack of health and fitness of the worker, as well as the inability to carry out work as required and agreed upon.

The recruitment of part of the cost amount will be refunded in two cases during the post-probation period and up to the expiry of the two-year contract. Both cases include the worker terminating the contract after the probation period without a legitimate reason or leaving work after the probation period without an acceptable reason. This amount is calculated according to the remaining period of the contract."

The ministry exempts recruitment agencies from refunding the amount to the employer if the latter is the one who requested by name a particular worker and the office concerned was only executing the will of the employer.

The occupations of the support services workers include employees, sailors, guards, shepherds, handler, handicapper, falcon helpers, workers, housekeepers, cooks, nannies, farmers, gardeners, private trainers, private nurses, private teachers, private delegates, private agricultural engineers, and private drivers.