UAE announces first labor market awards to recognize best practices – News

UAE Labor Market Awards aim to attract more talent, businesses to the country

Domestic workers, labourers, companies and businesses in the UAE will receive the inaugural UAE Labor Market Award.

Divided into three categories, the awards will recognize best practice and encourage employees and companies to go the extra mile. The initiative aims to enhance the competitiveness of the UAE labor market, increase its productivity and efficiency, recognize outstanding practices in the working environment, protect and encourage workers’ rights, while improving the well-being and quality of life of private sector institutional workforces.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) will begin accepting applications for the award via riyada.mohre.gov.ae from 1 June 2023. The deadline for receiving applications is August 31st. Following this, in-office and on-site evaluations will take place in September, followed by an awards ceremony in November.

Dr Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, said the awards are aimed at attracting more talent and businesses to the country. “The award is a tribute to the private sector at a time when the UAE continues to develop laws and policies for the labor market, an incubator that enriches the UAE community with multicultural investors and employees,” he said.

Dr Al Awar gave the example of the workers’ dormitories he visited. “There is a playground for the workers and the safety and health standards are very high,” he said. “It’s important to recognize and reward the commitment of these companies to provide such a quality environment for their employees.”

Winners will benefit from access to improved facilities and other advantages, according to the award’s organizers. Winners will not be eligible to participate in the next two cycles of the program. Companies from the mainland and free zones will be eligible for the award. Dr Al Awar stressed that an impartial committee external to the Ministry will oversee the evaluation and selection of the awardees to ensure a fair selection.

The awards will be divided into three categories – Organization, Distinguished Employee and Business Services Partner categories.

The first category is for institutions or companies and is divided into one main category and six subcategories by institution size (small, medium, large, very large).

Four institutions will be recognized in the main categories for adopting best practices in human resources and strictly adhering to work environment regulations and standards.

Awards will also be awarded in six subcategories.These include

1. Employment empowerment and skilled labor attraction practices

2. Occupational Health and Safety Practices

3. Employment Relations and Wage Practices

4. Employee benefits and quality of life

6. Accommodation for outstanding employees

Four companies will be awarded in each subcategory, for a total of 28 companies awarded.

To apply for the agency category, agencies must be registered on MoHRE’s database and should have been in the labor market for two years or more. They must not be owned by the government, no judicial decision can be taken against them, or any penalty be imposed on them for violating labor laws that were in force in the UAE in the previous year.

This category recognizes outstanding workers serving UAE businesses and communities. The criteria for this category are achievement, creativity and innovation, continuous learning and social responsibility. It is divided into three subcategories:

1. Skilled labor: includes senior professionals who have been working for at least one year

2. Unskilled labor: This category includes employees at or below the sixth occupational level

3. General Nomination: It includes all workforce types, from those who have made a positive impact and unique mark on UAE society. Nominations in the General Nomination category are open to nominations from government agencies, private sector agencies and the community at large.

To be nominated for the award, participants must have been with the institution for no less than one year. The participant’s profile must be free of violations and the participant must not have had a labor complaint/suspension registered against them in the previous year.

Each category will recognize four winners for a total of 12 awards.

This category recognizes business service partners, including firms that help develop best-in-class labor market practices. It is divided into three subcategories:

1. Domestic Worker Recruitment Agencies: This will recognize recruitment agencies that employ best practices by providing appropriate support to domestic workers and meeting the desires of the families they work with to obtain the services they need.

2. Employment Agencies: This will recognize leading employment agencies that apply best practices in attracting skilled human resources in line with the labor market’s need to increase productivity and improve labor market efficiency.

3. Business Service Centers: Leading business service centers that adopt best practices and enable their staff to deliver excellence to the UAE business sector will be awarded.

One winner will be awarded for each category. Winning entities must be registered with MoHRE’s database and have been in the labor force for two years or more. They must not be owned by the government, no judicial decision can be taken against them, or any penalty be imposed on them for violating labor laws that were in effect in the UAE in the previous year. It must also commit to completing the timeline for nomination applications and awards. Award-winning units can only participate after two sessions from the date of award.