In an update to the existing Emiratisation rules, companies with 20-49 employees will now have to reach a quota of at least one UAE citizen by 2024 and another by 2025.
The Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation announced that the new requirement applies to privately owned companies across 14 sectors including:
Information and communications
Financial and insurance activities
Real estate
Professional and technical activities
Administrative and support activities
Arts and entertainment
Mining and quarrying
Transformative industries
Education
Healthcare and social work
Construction
Wholesale and retail
Transportation and warehousing
Hospitality and residency services
For those companies that do not adhere to the quota targets an annual penalty of Dhs 96,000 will be issued from January 2025 on establishments that do not comply with the decision in 2024, while non-compliant establishments in 2025 will face a Dhs108,000 fine in January 2026.
Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation stated “We are confident that expanding the establishments targeted by Emiratisation targets will have a positive impact and bring benefits for both our citizens and the establishments themselves, where the latter will be able to benefit from the support of the Nafis programme.”
The new announcement comes after the directive last year for companies with more than 50 employees, which were directed to achieve 2 percent of roles taken up by Emiratis by the end of 2022 and then increase the proportion of Emiratis in the workforce by 1 percent every 6 months.
Companies registered in free zones are exempt yet are still encouraged to hire UAE citizens.
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