A recent amendment to the UAE labour law has introduced more severe penalties for fraudulent Emiratisation practices, according to a legal expert. The law, announced earlier this week, imposes fines between Dh100,000 and Dh1 million for "deceptive labour practices." Abdulrahman Alqassem, a legal expert at Habib Al Mulla and Partners, defines fraudulent employment as "falsely hiring a UAE national by issuing a work permit for them and registering them with the establishment for purposes other than the intended reason for issuing such permit." This means a UAE national is hired without being assigned any actual tasks. Private companies in the UAE are legally obligated to increase the number of Emirati employees in skilled positions. Some firms, in an effort to meet these targets, resort to fake Emiratisation. In a recent case, a private company was fined Dh10 million for failing to comply with the regulations after a court in Abu Dhabi found that the firm had appointed 113 citizens in fictitious roles. From the scheme's launch in mid-22 until November 2023, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre) discovered that 1,267 UAE nationals were employed in fake posts. "Participating in false Emiratisation practices will result in administrative fines ranging from Dh20,000 to Dh100,000 for each instance, depending on the number of offences," Alqassem said. "Additionally, circumventing Emiratisation targets will lead to fines ranging from Dh100,000 to Dh500,000." Other tactics to evade the rules are punishable by penalties starting at Dh100,000 for the first offence to Dh500,000 for the third. These evasion methods include reducing the number of employees and altering job categories. Based on the new provisions, the penalties will be multiplied based on the number of people that were fictitiously employed. The new decree also addresses other labour law violations such as closing a business without settling the rights of workers, and employing a minor. Bassem Ehab, another legal expert, explained the implications of these new provisions. "Any dispute arising from the employment relationship between the employee and employer must be addressed by submitting a request to Mohre," he told Khaleej Times. "The ministry's decision in these cases is final, but either party retains the right to challenge it before the relevant Court of Appeal within 15 days," Ehab said. The labour law amendments are aimed at cracking down on unfair and fraudulent employment practices and ensuring full compliance with Emiratisation policies.