MoHRE: Midsize firms told to hire Emiratis or face Dhs96,000 penalty

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) has notified more than  12,000 private companies with between 20 and 49 employees to hire one UAE national in 2024 and another one in 2025 as the government widens its Emiratisation targets.

Companies that fail to meet the new Emiratisation targets in 2024 face Dhs96,000 for each Emirati not hired and another Dhs108,000 will be imposed in January 2026 for the year 2025.

MoHRE said the expansion of Emiratisation targets is expected to create around 12,000 jobs annually for UAE nationals in 2024 and 2025, a top priority for the UAE Government.

The new resolution comes in addition to Emiratisation targets for companies with 50 or more employees that are required to achieve a 2 per cent Emiratisation growth in skilled jobs.

“We are committed to following up the implementation of Emiratisation targets, in line with the policies and resolutions of the UAE Cabinet in this regard. To that end, we adopt an integrated system of policies, standards, regulatory tools, and partnerships to achieve our objectives: empower Emirati professionals, enhance their competitiveness, and broaden their engagement in the workforce across the labour market,” said Ayesha Belharfia, Under-Secretary for Emiratisation Affairs at MoHRE.

Belharfia called on the companies included in the Emiratisation targets following the expansion to promptly register on the Nafis platform and benefit from the programme’s support.

MoHRE said the companies included in the new resolution operate in 14 specific economic sectors.

These include information and communications; finance and insurance; real estate; professional and technical activities; administrative and support services; education; healthcare and social work; arts and entertainment; mining and quarrying; transformative industries; construction; wholesale and retail; transportation and warehousing; and hospitality and residency services.

The ministry said the companies were selected according to specific criteria and data, including the quality of their jobs, the extent of their compatibility with Emiratisation goals and geographic locations.

MOHRE acts on false Emiratisation

Meanwhile, MoHRE referred 113 private companies to Public Prosecution for violating Emiratisation decisions, including 98 private companies that appointed UAE nationals in fake Emiratisation posts. The latest case brings the total number of companies violating Emiratisation since the second half of 2022 to 894, while a total of 1,267 UAE nationals have been proven to be hired in fake jobs.

“The violating companies have been referred to the Public Prosecution, and legal and administrative actions have been taken against them; these measures include imposing fines of Dhs20,000 for each fake Emiratisation case and reducing the companies’ classification to the lowest category within MoHRE’s system for classifying private sector companies,” MoHRE said in a statement.

The ministry also took legal and administrative measures against 15 companies proven to have evaded Emiratisation targets. MoHRE fined these companies Dhs100,000 each, ordered them to achieve the required targets and applied financial contributions to each of the companies involved circumventing Emiratisation targets.

Emiratisation is aimed at enhancing the UAE’s human development system, establishing productive and sustainable Emirati human capital in the private sector, and empowering UAE citizens to make effective contributions to the job market.

Read: Emiratisation: MoHRE reminds private sector about December 31 deadline