Occupational Health Rights
Written in plain language for general understanding. This is educational content, not legal advice. Based on UAE federal decrees, laws, and ministerial decisions.
UAE Federal Law
What is this right?
UAE law requires employers to protect workers from health hazards in the workplace and cover the costs of work-related injuries and illnesses:
- Employer responsibility: Employers must provide a safe and healthy working environment, including proper ventilation, sanitation, lighting, and temperature control.
- Health assessments: Workers in hazardous occupations must receive regular health check-ups at the employer's expense.
- Work-related injuries: If you are injured at work or develop an occupational disease, your employer must cover all medical treatment costs.
- Sick leave: Workers are entitled to 90 days of sick leave per year — the first 15 days at full pay, the next 30 days at half pay, and the remaining 45 days unpaid.
- Disability compensation: If a workplace injury results in permanent disability, you are entitled to compensation calculated as a percentage of your salary based on the degree of disability.
When does it apply?
- You work in the private sector in the UAE.
- You have suffered a workplace injury or developed an illness related to your work.
- You work in a hazardous industry (construction, manufacturing, oil and gas, chemicals).
What should you do?
- Report any workplace injury immediately to your employer and seek medical treatment.
- Document everything — get a medical report linking your injury or illness to your work.
- If your employer refuses to cover medical costs, file a complaint with MOHRE.
- For disability compensation, get an assessment from a government medical committee to determine the disability percentage.
What should you NOT do?
- Do not delay reporting injuries — late reporting can make it harder to prove the injury was work-related.
- Do not pay for treatment yourself if the injury is work-related — this is the employer's legal obligation.
- Do not return to work against medical advice — your employer cannot force you to work while on approved sick leave.
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