The Nature of the Disciplinary Code in UAE Law - Research Proposal Example

? The Nature of the Disciplinary in UAE Law The UAE law addresses a number of issues which helps both the employers and the employees to have a peaceful existence between them. Among the laws is the disciplinary code which provides various disciplinary measures which an employer may impose on the employee to enhance smooth operations between them. The effectiveness of the disciplinary code is vital in determining the relationship between the employer and the employee which in turn determines the success of the organization concerned. This paper addresses the effectiveness of the disciplinary code of the UAE law in addressing various issues arising labor relations. Qualitative methods of investigation will be used to gather data from employees and employers of various companies. This method will apply questionnaires designed for 500 responded with both closed and open ended questionnaires to come up with relevant data. It’s finally concluded that the UAE is very effective in addressing labor laws since its enactment. Introduction The purpose of this study is to establish the nature of the disciplinary code as entrenched within the Labor Laws of the UAE. Labor laws in the United Arab Emirates are governed by the federal law number eight of 1980 and it regulates all aspects of labor relations between employees and the employers (Abudhabi, 2013). It’s an advanced law that clarifies the rights and duties of all concerned parties hence benefiting both the employers and employees resulting to fewer conflicts. The labor law developed in 1980 and has been amended several times to keep it touch with the demands and realities of the dynamic world. Among the issues outlined in the labor laws include working hours, holidays, leaves, compensation, employment contracts, and disciplinary rules among others. The disciplinary code addresses part of the Labor Laws that addresses issues related to warnings, fines, and suspension from work and termination of service among others. Since the disciplinary code is vital in shaping work relationships between the employer and the employee, it’s important to establish how effective it is in addressing work related issues. The study will establish the strengths and weaknesses embedded within the disciplinary code hence providing avenues for future amendments when deemed necessary. Literature review Labour law in UAE This is a federal legislation applicable to all emirate members regardless of whether they are UAE residents or emigrants, however, with a few exemptions (U.A.E Labor Law, 2011). Those discharged from the applicability of this law include the agricultural employees, domestic servants, members of the armed forces and the police, and the staff and workers of centralized government sectors of the emirates. In addition (Al Tamini, 2011), Labor Laws cover all aspects of regarding the employer and employee relations including contracts, restrictions on employment of juveniles and women, leave rules, working hours, medical and social care, just but to mention a few . The Labor Law demands that for any employment of the expatriate, an application must be made to the ministry of labor and the ministry has the mandate to approve such application or to disapprove it. Expatriates over the 18 years age can seek short term work permits valid for 60 days and can be renewed up to five times, as long as the renewal is done before the expiry date of the work permit (Barber & Harris, 2011). Such employment has a validity of three years subject to renewal for the same period by the same ministry with no subscription to minimum wage as such is agreed by the concerned parties. Juveniles under the age of 15 are banned from employment under the UAE Law, but those between the ages of 15 to 18 are allowed to work as long as they receive teenage work permit from the ministry. The employment of women is restricted between 10pm and 7am and they should also not be employed to perform difficult task. The working hours for adult employee are 8 hours a day amounting to 48 hours a week, making it very flexible for the workers (Guide2dubai, 2013). The disciplinary code provides for various disciplinary measures which an employer and his employer or his representative may impose on an employee as long as it’s within the limits of the contract agreed by them. It entails warnings, fines and suspension both of which arise during the course of duty (Hafner, 2013). In addition, the law deals with matters related to postponement of periodic allowances, deprivations of promotions in developments where promotions occur, termination of service without prejudgment and termination of service and the penalty of all or some of the gratuity. Hafner (2013) argues that the maximum fine an employer can impose on the employee is a fixed sum of money or amount equivalent to employees wage for a certain period but it cannot exceed five days wages. In addition (Aboul Hosn, 2013), employer is restricted by the disciplinary code not to deprive an employee periodic allowance more than once within a year and the employee incentives should not be postponed for more than six months. The law also stipulates that (Guide2dubai, 2013) no employee should be deprived of more than one promotion and thus the punished employee should be promotes in the first succeeding opportunity as long as he satisfies the necessary conditions. The law also protects the employee against receiving more than one punishment in one violation and a disciplinary punishment from the employee should not be accompanied by deduction on the part of the wages (Aboul Hosn, 2013). The use of disciplinary codes also require that an employee should be well informed of his violation in writing before any punishment imposed on him as this amount to violation of his rights. Before such punishment is imposed on the employee, he should be given time to defend himself and thus his statement of defense shall be written and well documented including the punishment imposed t enhance transparency. The employer is also restricted from imposing any disciplinary measures on an employee before the ministry is informed in writing (UAE, 2011). The employer is permitted by the law to temporarily suspend an employee from work when accused of deliberate crimes and the suspension should take effect from the date the concerned authority id informed. The employee is not entitled to his wages during the suspension period, however (Hafner, 2013), if the verdict relieves the employee from trial, he should be reinstated and given his full dues for the suspension period. The records and minutes of all the meeting regarding employees signed by both parties should be taken for submission to the ministry to avoid any conflicts with the government concerning the labor laws. Just like the UAE labour Laws, Qatar Labor laws are governed and controlled by the Ministry of Labor. However, the dispute between the employer and employee in Qatar is largely solved by a mediation process between the parties involved hence the dispute only proceeds to court if the mediation is unsuccessful (Higham & Khoja, 2010). Just like the UAE Laws, members of the armed forces, domestic workers, agricultural workers and federal employees are excluded from these Labor Laws. UAE are issued both in Arabic and English while the Qatari Laws are only issued in Arabic making it complex for workers who do not understand Arabic language. Both the Qatari Labor Laws and the UAE encourage the employment of their nationals as compared to expatriates due to the tough conditions imposed on the expatriate’s before being employed (Higham & Khoja, 2010). Research Questions How effective are the disciplinary codes in addressing the labor laws in UAE Do employers apply the disciplinary code in their workplaces? Are workers happy with protection provided by the disciplinary code? Research methods (Methodology) Design The intention of this research is to collect and analyses the views of employees and employers concerning the nature of the disciplinary code. Qualitative research design will be used to gather various opinions in various companies. Open ended questionnaires will be used to and they will be designed in such a manner as to address the research questions. The sampling technique will be closed and open ended questionnaires carefully designed according to the research objectives. This will enable us obtain a variety of responses from respondents from various views in different places. The study will be focused on employers and employees since they are directly affected by the disciplinary code. The questionnaires will be provided to 500 company employers and employees from five different companies. The selection will be based on experience as only those with over five years working experience will be selected for questioning. This will be done with the view of getting accurate response based on the experience of the employers and the employees in various organizations. Data Collection The data will be collected by the use of both closed and open ended questionnaires since it allows for collection of large amounts of data thus increasing the level of accuracy of the study. The results from the questionnaire can easily be quantified, unlike other methods of data collection which are complicated. Since the responses from the questionnaires are always varied, it opens the window of opportunity to explore additional theories which may not be part of the research. Data Analysis One the measuring instrument is administered; the mass raw data will be systematically organized through coding to facilitate analysis. Qualitative methods of data analysis will be used with both descriptive as well as inferential statistics to explain the results of the study. Descriptive statistics will enable the researcher to meaningfully describe the population of the study, while inferential statistics are deemed appropriate because they would enable the researcher to make inferences about the population based on the results of a representative sample. The types of the descriptive sample that would be used would be the frequency and the percentages while inferential statistics would be the regression analysis. Regression analysis is deemed appropriate in this case because it would enable the researcher to establish weather a variable an influence on a given dependent variable and because both variables in this study are categorical thus best handled by regression analysis. Common Mistakes Since the research is carefully designed and planned, common mistakes will thus be avoided in an effort to come up with relevant data for the study. Time Line NO Activities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 Research Design 2 Data Collection 3 Sampling Analysis 4 Data Analysis 5 Data Display Conclusion The federal government controls and maintains the discipline within the Labour market since the Ministry must be informed of major decisions related to discipline. The discipline code of the UAE is effective in addressing work related issues within the UAE due to the fact that it protects the employees from exploitation by the employers. References List Aboul Hosn, D. (2013). Disciplinary code at companies. Gulfnews. Retrieved from http://gulfnews.com/uaessentials/ask-the-law/disciplinary-code-at-companies-1.33189 Abudhabi. (2013). Abu Dhabi eGovernment Gateway. Procedure of Civil Cases. Retrieved from https://www.abudhabi.ae/egovPoolPortal_WAR/appmanager/ADeGP/Citizen?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P5800195121229243953993&lang=en&did=302640 Al Tamini. (2011). Labour Law in UAE. Al Tamini & Company. Legal Consultants. Barber, S.M. & Harris, M. (2011). Qatar Law, Questions and Answers: Employment Matters. Pattonblogs. Australia. Guide2dubai. (2013). Labour Law in Dubai UAE. Living in Dubai. Retrieved from http://www.guide2dubai.com/living/labour-law.asp Hafner. (2013). Disciplinary Code. UAE Labour Law News. Retrieved from http://www.hafnerconsultants.com/hafner-hr-consultants-news-details.asp?mid=33 Higham, E. & Khoja, S. (2010). Substance of Immigration Eligibility. An Overview of UAE and Qatar. Doha, Qatar. UAE Labour Law. (2011). Labour Law and its Amendments. Federal Law No. (8). Retrieved from http://www.deg.gov.ae/SiteCollectionImages/Content/pubdocs/UAE_Labour_Law_eng.pdf Read More