United Arab Emirates: Companies in the Mainland Private Sector Must Adjust Emiratization Rate by December 31, 2022

Employers in the mainland private sector that have more than 50 employees must increase the number of Emirati employees in their workforce in skilled occupations by at least 2% by the end of December 2022, following the announcement from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MOHRE) in May 2022. Effective January 2023, affected companies that do not comply with this rule will be subject to a fee of AED 6,000 per month for every Emirati citizen vacancy that has not been filled; the fee will increase by AED 1,000 annually. Companies will be considered non-compliant and owe the applicable fees if they do not meet the prescribed number of employers by the following year. Further, companies will also be considered non-compliant and owe the applicable fees if their ratio of employed Emirati nationals drops below the prescribed nationalization rate and is not corrected within two months of that date. Any fees that an employer owes can be viewed and paid in the company’s MOHRE portal at the beginning of the following year; for example, fees incurred during 2023 will be due in January 2024. Affected companies that have not yet adjusted their Emiratization rate must do so by the end of December 2022 before monthly fees will be incurred. Companies should register with the UAE government partnership program, ‘Nafis’, and consider the initiatives in place to support companies seeking eligible UAE national job candidates.