UAE private company fined Dh10m after issuing work permits to 113 fake employees

Business faced legal action after flouting Emiratisation rules

The UAE is getting tough on companies flouting Emiratisation rules. The National

A private company has been fined Dh10 million by an Abu Dhabi court after issuing work permits to more than 100 fictitious employees to meet Emiratisation targets.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation referred the unidentified business to the Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution after monitoring its “serious violations”.

Investigations revealed the company had registered the names of 113 citizens as employees to circumvent rules.

Abu Dhabi Misdemeanour Court imposed a significant financial penalty, authorities announced on Monday.

It was not made clear when the breaches took place.

Businesses with 50 or more employees were mandated to have 5 per cent of skilled roles filled by Emiratis by June 30, with fines imposed from July 1 for those that failed to do so.

The employment quota is part of a wider nationwide drive to ensure 10 per cent of all skilled positions are taken up by Emiratis by the end of 2026.

Companies that fail to comply with these goals can face fines of up to Dh48,000 for each Emirati they do not hire.

Holding companies to account

In March, the ministry announced that more than 1,200 companies had hired Emiratis illegally in an attempt to get around the rules.

The breaches concerned the employment of 1,963 Emiratis, in which companies were found to be using “fake Emiratisation”.

The numbers involved were for the period from mid-2022 to March 14, 2024.

The ministry has previously warned that businesses breaching Emiratisation rules will no longer receive financial benefits from the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council programme, also known as Nafis, for employing UAE citizens.

False Emiratisation includes family members being hired with no real role, or forging employment records by obtaining false work permits in the name of UAE citizens.

Companies can also be downgraded to the lowest categories in the private sector classification system.

This means they face higher service fees for work permits and transfer fees. Instead of paying only Dh250 for certain permits, they will pay Dh3,750.

Businesses are being asked to increase the number of citizens they hire by 2 per cent each year to reach the 10 per cent target by the end of 2026.

The number of Emiratis working in the private sector exceeded 100,000 for the first time in May, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid announced at the time.

The Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai said more than 70,000 citizens had joined private companies in the past two and a half years alone in a message on X, formerly Twitter.