This global pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have introduced us with a virtual world providing a work from home (WFH) model. This model has offered great flexibility, and the people are working at their leisure. Since you are using laptop from the drawing room, a lot of travelling time is also saved. Consequently, it is observed that some employees are working for approx. 14-15 hours per day. Now, an important question arises that whether an employee can claim payment for the overtime time? Let’s try to find out this answer with the help of top lawyers from best law firm of UAE.
Laws governing overtime payment
For all the mainland companies operating in the UAE, the Federal Decree Law No. (33) of 2021 (UAE Employment Law) and the requirements of Cabinet Resolution No. (1) of 2022 are applicable. The provision regarding overtime work is provided under Article 19(2) of the UAE employment law. As per the said Article, if an employee works for additional hours exceeding the ordinary working hours, it will be treated as overtime work, and the employee shall be paid his basic pay along with a supplement of at least 25% of that pay.
However, the right to claim overtime payment is not absolute, and it is subject to some exceptions. For instance- if you are employed as a manager or your work involve technical specifications, you may not be entitled to receive the overtime pay, even though you work for additional hours. Further, Article 15(4) of the Cabinet Resolution No.1 of 2022 on Employment Relations provides for a list of persons, who shall be excluded from the purview of overtime payment. It includes-
- Chairmen and members of the board of directors.
- People who are acting in supervisory capacity, such as field managers or nodal officers. Under this category, it is important that the excluded person must have some employees working under his direction or supervision.
- Workers constituting the crew of naval vessels and enjoying special conditions of service
- People engaged in such a technical work which is necessary to continue through various shifts. However, the average working hours per week should not exceed 56 hours.
- People engaged in temporary projects having very short deadline.
How can you claim overtime payment?
You are strongly advised to prepare a time sheet of your daily working hours and submit it with your employer at the end of the month to get additional benefits. In case, you don’t have proof or data relating to the extra hours you put in, it would be prudent to demonstrate the nature of work you accomplished during the additional period.
For employers, it would be convenient to formulate a proper overtime strategy in compliance with UAE employment law incorporating all the key details, such as rate of payment, nature of overtime, maximum payment ceiling, etc.
In Short
In a nutshell, an employee can claim compensation in pursuance of Article 19(2) of UAE employment law. However, employees acting in managerial or technical capacity are deprived from this benefit. The role of employment agreement also becomes quite important, and one should get this drafted with the help of best employment lawyers of UAE. BSB Legal is a specialised employment law firm having best lawyers of UAE specialised in contract drafting, legal advisory, and commercial litigation. For further information, contact with the best law firm of UAE.