The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs (UAE, Ministerial Decree No. 2, 1987)
UAE Ministerial Decree No. (2) of 1987: The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
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Labour Law Information
This page collects English translations of the UAE's former federal Labour Law, Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 on the Regulation of Labour Relations, together with the laws that amended it and the ministerial and cabinet instruments made under it. For four decades this was the statute behind every private-sector employment contract in the country. It was repealed and replaced by Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, which took effect on 2 February 2022. That current law is not in this catalogue.
The 1980 texts still come up in practice. Claims about service that began before February 2022, end-of-service gratuity calculated over periods spanning both regimes, contracts drafted by reference to the old article numbers, and court judgments and arbitral awards that cite them all send lawyers and HR teams back to the earlier law. Researchers comparing the two regimes need it too.
What is here: Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 itself; the amending laws, among them No. 24 of 1981, No. 15 of 1985, No. 12 of 1986 and No. 14 of 1999; ministerial resolutions on labour relations from 2005 to 2009; labour inspection rules from 1980; and the cabinet standards on collective labour accommodation (Cabinet Resolution No. 13 of 2009). There is also a translation of a draft amended text of the law, which is not the enacted 2021 decree-law.
Which law currently governs employment in the UAE?
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, in force since February 2022, which replaced the long-standing Federal Law No. 8 of 1980. The 1980 law still matters: disputes about employment periods, gratuities and terminations that predate the change are assessed under it.
Does UAE federal labour law cover everyone working in the country?
No. Domestic workers have their own statute, government employees fall under public-sector rules, and the DIFC and ADGM financial free zones each apply their own employment law. Checking which regime applies is the first step in any UAE employment question.