The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the top ten destinations of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) as per the report of Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
One reason why the UAE is an attractive destination for workers is due to the country’s dedication to protect the rights of its workers, particularly household service workers (HSWs).
In September 2017, President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued Federal Law No. 10 of 2017. The law aims to ensure legal protection towards HSWs including maids, nannies, gardeners, drivers, among others.
Here is a list of benefits and rights afforded to workers in the UAE:
Wage
– The employer and the employee should already have an agreed compensation before the employee flies to UAE.
– Compensation, with a signed receipt, should be paid within the first ten (10) days of the month
– No amount of money should be deducted from an employee’s salary or end-of-service gratuity unless the employee has debts or damages that should be paid
Contract
– A copy of the job offer should be presented to the worker before flying to UAE
– The worker has the right to terminate the contract if the employer cannot meet the obligations set in the job offer
Entitlements
– Payment of wages and end-of-service gratuity
– One day paid rest per week
– Eight consecutive hours of rest aside from the four extra hours of rest during the day
– Medical insurance
– Thirty days medical leave per year
– Decent accommodation and meals
– Roundtrip ticket to the home country every 2 years
– Possession of personal documents including passports and other IDs
– Right to file a complaints to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE)
Prohibitions
– Workers cannot be physically abused
– Workers under 18 years old cannot be employed
– Employers may not force workers to do tasks not stated in their job offer
The law also clarifies that the following jobs fall under HSWs and are thus, covered by the law:
– housemaid
– private sailor
– watchman and security guard
– household shepherd
– family chauffeur
– household horse groomer
– household falcon carer and trainer
– domestic labourer
– Housekeeper
– private coach
– private teacher
– Babysitter
– household farmer
– private nurse
– private PRO
– private agriculture engineer.
