Equality and inclusion duties in the United Arab Emirates
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
Equality and inclusion in the UAE is governed by a combination of federal labour law, anti-discrimination provisions and sector-specific rules — not a single consolidated equality act. Employers operating here have concrete, enforceable obligations, even if the framework looks different from the UK Equality Act or US Title VII.
What the law actually prohibits
Federal Decree-Law No. 33/2021 (the UAE Labour Law) explicitly prohibits discrimination in employment on the grounds of race, colour, sex, religion, national origin, social origin and disability. The prohibition covers the full employment lifecycle: recruitment, terms and conditions, promotion, training and termination.
Article 4 of the same law bans any form of forced labour and prohibits employers from using or permitting any practices that amount to harassment, bullying or coercion in the workplace.
Separate from the Labour Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 29/2006 on the Rights of People with Disabilities (amended subsequently) places duties on both public and private sector employers to accommodate workers with disabilities and to ensure accessible workplaces. There is also a federal target requiring that a defined percentage of government-entity roles be filled by people with disabilities, though the private sector obligation is framed more around non-discrimination and reasonable accommodation than a hard quota.
Emiratisation (Nafis) obligations
Emiratisation is the most quantified inclusion obligation private employers face. Under the Nafis programme, private sector companies with 50 or more employees are required to meet annual UAE national hiring quotas. The target has been incrementally rising; companies in certain skilled categories must hit a prescribed percentage of Emirati staff and register those employees correctly on the Nafis platform.
Employers who miss their Emiratisation targets pay a monthly levy per unfilled Emirati position. The levy is set and adjusted periodically by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), so you should verify the current rate directly with MoHRE rather than relying on a figure that may have changed.
Emiratisation is not an afterthought — it is the equality obligation with the most direct financial consequence for non-compliance, and regulators actively audit it.
Equal pay and gender provisions
The Labour Law states that women must receive equal pay to men for the same work or work of equal value. There is no gender pay gap reporting obligation comparable to the UK's, but the principle of equal remuneration is codified in law.
The law also provides women with 60 calendar days of maternity leave (45 days fully paid, 15 days at half pay) and entitles nursing mothers to two daily nursing breaks for up to six months after birth. Dismissing an employee because of pregnancy or maternity leave is explicitly prohibited.
It is worth noting that there is no personal income tax on salaries in the UAE, so equal pay considerations are about gross contractual pay and benefits — no tax wedge complicates the comparison.
Nationality and religion in practice
Employers cannot refuse to hire, demote, dismiss or apply different contractual terms to someone because of national origin or religion. In practice this has implications for the UAE's heavily expatriate workforce: if you structure pay differently for employees of different nationalities doing the same role — a practice that was historically common — you are now on legally uncertain ground under the current Labour Law.
Benefits that differ by nationality (housing allowances tied to home-country cost of living, for example) remain in a grey area. Taking legal advice on your specific compensation structure is sensible if you operate a multi-tiered pay framework.
Practical compliance steps
Document your policies. The Labour Law requires employers to have an internal work policy (required for companies with 50 or more employees) that must include anti-harassment and non-discrimination provisions. This policy must be approved by MoHRE and posted in the workplace.
Use WPS correctly. All salaries must be paid through the Wage Protection System. WPS data is visible to MoHRE and inconsistencies — such as systematic pay differences that could indicate discriminatory patterns — can trigger inspection.
Handle complaints with a formal process. If an employee raises a discrimination or harassment complaint and you lack a documented procedure, you are exposed. MoHRE provides a dispute resolution mechanism, and employees can file complaints directly if internal resolution fails.
Keep records for end-of-service calculations. Because gratuity under Federal Decree-Law No. 33/2021 is based on basic wage (21 days per year for the first five years, 30 days thereafter, capped at two years' total pay), any discriminatory depression of basic salary for certain groups will directly affect the gratuity they accrue — creating a compounding liability.
Audit your Emiratisation numbers quarterly. Given the levy structure, a missed target discovered in December costs more than one caught in January.
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