Employers with fifty or more employees now have to implement and develop systems to track work-related illnesses and injuries.

According to Clause 13 of Article 13 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations in the Private Sector (the UAE labour law), employers must provide employees with a safe and appropriate work environment. The employer and the employee must comply with all controls and procedures issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) and other competent authorities of the country regarding occupational health and safety.

The Resolution provides that all establishments must keep a record of reports concerning work-related injuries and occupational diseases on the Ministry’s system through the following channels: 

Moreover, the system for monitoring work injuries and occupational diseases should include necessary preventive tools and training programmes for workers engaged in high-risk activities, an inventory of all activities that are dangerous to the health and safety of workers, and the number of workers performing hazardous jobs. 

Employers have also to carry out health examinations of workers engaged and investigate incidents of work injuries. The Resolution also refers to a report from the competent medical committees that shows the level of disability in the event of a work injury or occupational diseases and a log for periodic medical examination of workers. 

In case of an injury or death at the workplace, the employer/s must inform MoHRE within 48 hours of the incident and is obligated to treat and compensate an injured worker for any work-related illness or injury. In case a worker sustains a partial disability, he/she will be compensated with a portion of the value of permanent complete disability and, in case of death or permanent complete disability, the compensation is equal to the basic wage of the worker for 24 months, based on the employee’s latest basic pay.