Every quarter, the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MOHRE) publishes a cluster of procedural clarifications to Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 — the law that rewrote the UAE's private-sector employment rulebook. The 2025 round is smaller than the 2023 overhaul but in some ways more consequential: it closes loopholes that well-meaning employers had been walking through without realising.
This brief sets out the five updates every HR team operating in the UAE mainland should push into its handbook, contract templates and payroll masters before the end of the quarter.
1. Probation-period exits — clarified, not relaxed
Article 9 of the decree already required 14 days' written notice to exit an employee during probation, and a 30-day notice if the employee was leaving for another UAE employer. The 2025 clarification confirms three points that had been disputed in practice:
- The 30-day "switcher" notice applies even when the probationary employee has not completed six months in country.
- The new employer continues to bear the recruitment-cost reimbursement obligation when poaching during probation.
- Counting is in calendar days, not working days — an important distinction during Eid and national-holiday periods.
The practical consequence: your offer letter needs an express clause confirming these rules, your onboarding pack needs to set the employee's expectations, and your payroll system should default to calendar-day notice calculations.
2. Gratuity on limited-term contracts — the new "pro-rata from day one"
Under Federal Decree-Law No. 33, every private-sector employment relationship is now fixed-term. The 2025 clarification confirms that end-of-service gratuity accrues pro-rata from day one, subject to the one-year minimum qualifying service. In other words, an employee who resigns at 15 months is entitled to exactly 15 months of gratuity at 21 days' basic salary per year — calculated to the day.
“Policy by copy-paste is how good employers end up with expensive surprises. Read the clarification, not just the headline.”
3. Remote work, part-time and flexible models
The 2023 regulations created six work-model categories. The 2025 refresh confirms that the "remote work" permit is available for both UAE-resident and non-resident staff, provided that the employer has a physical mainland establishment and that WPS payment is processed through a UAE-regulated channel. Several free-zone employers had been treating remote staff as contractors — that route is now closed.
What to change in your handbook
- Add a short section defining which of the six work models the employee falls into.
- Document expected working hours per model, with the statutory maximum of 48 per week as the backstop.
- Confirm home-office allowances and equipment policy in writing.
4. Non-compete and restrictive covenants
Non-compete clauses are enforceable in the UAE only where three conditions are met: the employee held a position with legitimate access to confidential information; the restriction is limited to two years; and the geographic scope is proportionate. The 2025 Ministerial Decision confirms that a blanket "UAE-wide" non-compete will be struck down as overbroad unless the employer can show a genuine, firm-specific business need.
For HR teams this means reviewing template contracts and tightening non-competes to a defined business activity and a defined emirate or free zone. Restrictions on junior staff should be removed entirely.
5. Discrimination, harassment and the new complaint track
Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 — the UAE's anti-discrimination law — now sits alongside a dedicated MOHRE complaint channel for workplace harassment. The employer's positive duty is to have a written policy, a confidential complaint route and a documented investigation procedure. Silence on any of these three elements is now itself a breach. Expect MOHRE inspectors to ask for the policy, not just evidence that the problem has been handled case by case.
- Update your offer letters and handbook to reflect calendar-day probation notice periods.
- Recalculate gratuity accruals pro-rata from day one in your payroll master.
- Classify every employee into one of the six statutory work models.
- Tighten non-compete clauses to a defined activity and emirate.
- Publish a written anti-harassment policy with a confidential complaint route.
None of the 2025 changes are individually dramatic. Together, though, they represent the Ministry's steady, predictable tightening of standards. Employers who treat the annual "clarifications" as cosmetic will eventually be surprised by an inspector's visit or an employee's claim. Employers who treat them as a quarterly discipline — read, interpret, update, train — will not.