Recently, on 11th July 2023, the MoHRE announced a new Emiratisation bracket, extending the scope of Emiratisation and introducing the need for companies with 20-49 employees to take on one Emirati hire by end of next year (2024). Each business falling within this employee range must then hire one additional Emirati into a skilled role by the end of each year.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) issued Ministerial Decision 279 of 2022, on 6th June 2022. This introduced new measures for increasing the population of Emiratis working within the private sector, whereby companies with over 50 employees were required to maintain specified Emiratisation rates, outlines as a percentage of the skilled workforce.
By the end of 2022, companies were expected to have achieved a rate of 2% Emiratisation, with a further 2% through 2023, to reach a total 4% overall. Increasing by 2% year-on-year, by the end of 2026, companies are expected to have achieved a minimum of 10% of UAE citizens operating in skilled positions. This was introduced to boost Emirati involvement in the public and private sectors, and to create opportunities for the Emirati workforce.
Initially, as of 1st July 2023, which was later extended one week to 7th July due to the long holiday for Arafat Day and Eid Al Adha, companies were required to meet a mid-year target quota of 1%. This deadline was meant to ensure that companies were keeping on track with their Emiratisation rates and hiring requirements.
The sectors that are required by the MoHRE to account for the new regulation includes: Financial and insurance activities; Real estate; Information and communications; Education; Healthcare and social work; Construction; Transportation and warehousing; Hospitality and residency services; Wholesale and retail; Administrative and support services; Professional and technical activities; Arts and entertainment; Mining and quarrying; Transformative industries.
This will give an additional push in boosting the Emirati presence within the private sector workforce. The Emiratisation initiative creates more opportunities for UAE citizens and graduates to develop their careers and skills and supports continued growth within the region.
What happens next to the companies that are yet to apply
Companies that fall within the employee range of 20-49 employees, are now included in the Emiratisation initiative and are required to meet specific Emiratisation quotas. Each business employing within this range are expected to hire at least one Emirati by the end of 2024, with one additional Emirati hire each year.
It is strongly urged that companies falling within this Emiratisation bracket are actively seeking to meet their hiring quota as soon as possible. To achieve this, it is recommended that companies that are yet to apply, register and engage with the UAE government’s partnership programme ‘Nafis’ or other similar recruitment agencies. The UAE government has created the Nafis platform, which can specifically aid companies with recruiting and discovering Emiratis candidates for hiring and achieving their Emiratisation quotas.
For companies who fail to comply with hiring one Emirati into a skilled role before the required deadline, they risk incurring penalties and fines. Should a company of 20-49 employees fail to hire one Emirati in 2024, they will be subject to a AED 96,000 penalty fine. This fine will further increase to AED108,000 should the company fail to employ an Emirati in 2025.
