• People waiting for their turn to get the Covid-19 vaccine at the Ajman Society of Social and Cultural Development. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National
    People waiting for their turn to get the Covid-19 vaccine at the Ajman Society of Social and Cultural Development. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National
  • People arrive at the vaccination centre to receive shots of either Sinopharm or Pfizer-BioNTech.
    People arrive at the vaccination centre to receive shots of either Sinopharm or Pfizer-BioNTech.
  • Rashid Al Shamsi after getting his Covid-19 vaccine shot at the centre.
    Rashid Al Shamsi after getting his Covid-19 vaccine shot at the centre.
  • People in Ajman have responded to government calls to support the nationwide vaccination drive.
    People in Ajman have responded to government calls to support the nationwide vaccination drive.
  • A man receives the Covid-19 vaccine at the Ajman Society of Social & Cultural Development centre.
    A man receives the Covid-19 vaccine at the Ajman Society of Social & Cultural Development centre.
  • Numbers of Emiratis getting vaccinated at the Ajman centre have increased significantly in recent months.
    Numbers of Emiratis getting vaccinated at the Ajman centre have increased significantly in recent months.
  • Muna Saqr Al Matrooshi, general director of Ajman Society of Social and Cultural Development, has welcomed the rise in Emiratis being vaccinated at the centre.
    Muna Saqr Al Matrooshi, general director of Ajman Society of Social and Cultural Development, has welcomed the rise in Emiratis being vaccinated at the centre.

UAE

Ajman government workers to face up to 10-day pay cut for flouting Covid-19 safety rules

Employees will not get sick or quarantine leave if they come into close contact with infected people outside the workplace or home for a second time

Salam Al Amir
Salam Al Amir

January 12, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Ajman government has warned its employees to follow Covid-19 safety rules or face a pay cut.

The emirate’s human resources department sent out a circular that lists offences for which salaries will be deducted.

These include failing to wear face masks, being in crowded areas and shaking hands with others.

The list of fines aims to ensure employees adhere to rules designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus and safeguard public health.

Any deductions will be made from the basic salary. Employees will not receive sick or quarantine leave if they come into close contact with infected people outside the workplace or home for a second time.

The list of fines in the circular:

  • An employee found to ignore rules, such as wearing face masks or maintaining a safe distance, will be let off with a warning the first time but will be hit with a one-day pay cut the second time and a two-day deduction the third time.
  • Anyone who goes to work after being in contact with a Covid-19 patient will get a one-day salary cut the first time, five-days the second time, and 10 days in the third instance.
  • If an employee fails to inform their manager that they were in close contact with a positive case or fails to comply with home quarantine rules, they will get a warning the first time, a one-day pay cut the second time and a three-day cut for the third time.
  • Supervisors must ensure employees follow the rules. If they fail to do so they will get a warning the first time, a one-pay cut the second time and a three-day pay cut the third time.
  • Close contacts must self-isolate for seven days or work remotely if possible.
  • Employees will not be given sick leave if they come into close contact with an infected person outside work or home for a second time. Their quarantine days will be adjusted against annual leave and if they have exhausted that, it will be considered unpaid leave.
While you're here
While you're here
BORDERLANDS

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis

Director: Eli Roth

Rating: 0/5

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

The specs

Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic

Power: 375bhp

Torque: 520Nm

Price: Dh332,800

On sale: now

Kareem Shaheen on Canada
What is safeguarding?

“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.

FIXTURES

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)

Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)

Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)

Miss Granny

Director: Joyce Bernal

Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa

3/5

(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)

Updated: January 12, 2022, 10:04 AM
AjmanCoronavirus