UAE companies have been urged to be "flexible wherever possible" with employees seeking to switch to remote work as the country comes under sustained attack from Iran.
A number of companies operating in the Emirates have shifted to remote working in response to the conflict, while New York University Abu Dhabi has moved to online learning for the "foreseeable future".
Michael Chattle, a legal director at Al Tamimi & Co, which has offices in DIFC, said businesses should be "mindful" of the concerns of their staff and called for open dialogue between employer and employee.
“Given the current circumstances, it is understandable many individuals are considering their options about either temporarily leaving the UAE or staying at home and are unwilling to go into work as normal,” Mr Chattle said.
“However, employees should exercise caution before taking such decisions and ideally seek consent or approval from their employer in advance.”
Discretionary advice
Under UAE law, employees do not have an automatic right to refuse to work or work remotely whether from their UAE residence or from outside the country.
As current guidance from the UAE government does not mandate alternative working arrangements, it is left up to businesses to decide how they wish to operate during this period.
Any alternative working arrangements, either remote working from inside or outside of the UAE or periods of absence, would need to be agreed with an individual’s employer in advance.
Any refusal to work during this time could lead to disciplinary action under UAE employment law, Mr Chattle explained.
That could include withholding of salary payments or dismissal, although workers would still be eligible for end of service payments.
“While it is good practice for businesses to be mindful of the current circumstances, having regard to the impact on employees and their families, and to be flexible wherever possible, technical, legal and practical considerations often make it difficult for employee requests to be accommodated,” he said.
“This is particularly the case where employees request to temporarily work remotely from abroad – while it may be technically possible for an employee to do this, there are tax implications, employment law considerations and data protection or security issues to be taken into account.
“Likewise, requests by employees for periods of annual leave or unpaid leave to allow them to leave the country may result in business operational issues, especially on short notice.”
Business Continuity
Citigroup, Standard Chartered and Goldman Sachs are among the firms to have implemented remote-working measures.
Standard Chartered dismissed reports it had evacuated its offices in Dubai on Wednesday, but confirmed it had extended remote working measures already in place.
"The Bank had already implemented a precautionary work-from-home arrangement last week and this has simply been extended," the company said in a statement on social media.
it said it would maintain "normal service" and would continue to monitor the unfolding situation closely.
Financial asset manager Macquarie said it was supporting staff in transit to return home and had enacted flexible working options for UAE workers.
“While our business in the UAE continues to operate as normal, we remain in close contact with our UAE based employees, offering full flexibility for those who continue to work from Dubai, as well as supporting staff in-transit through the region to return home,” a spokesperson for Macquarie said.
Meanwhile, public and private schools and universities adopted distance learning from Monday, March 2 until Friday, March 6, with schools also bringing forward the spring holiday back by a week, to start on March 9.
Hybrid model
Hybrid working has become an efficient tool for firms to attract and retain staff in a competitive employment industry ever since the Covid19 pandemic.
Public relations firm TishTash has 67 of its staff based in the UAE, while 80 per cent of clients are also regional.
Natasha Hatherall-Shawe, the company’s founder, said flexible working was a key component of a happy workplace, regardless of regional developments.
“We did have a number of requests from our team to travel and work remotely – mainly those with children,” she told The National.
“We’ve allowed them to use their “work from anywhere” allocation to cover this, while also putting in new guidelines and a policy together with our HR and legal team to ensure both sides are clear and protected”.
The company’s flexible working structure includes hybrid working, with three office days and one and a half from home.
Staff are also allowed a limited number of days where they can work from anywhere in the world.
Additional reporting by Alexander Christou
