Event licencing changes have been approved following an agreement between Abu Dhabi’s Tourism and Culture Authority and the General Command of the UAE Armed Forces. The agreement will establish an e-service for event licences to be obtained. It was signed for the Authority by its Director-General, Saif Saeed Ghobash and by the Head of Administration and Human Resources at the UAE’s Defence Ministry, Major General Salem Saeed Ghafan Al Jabri.
The Chairman of the Insurance Committee at the Alshariqyia Trade and Industry Chamber, Salah Aljabr has confirmed the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency has requested insurance companies send quarterly reports on their activities. This includes showing their commitment in training Saudi nationals. Aljabr added these reports should include details of training policies for managers and employees. Aljabr explained the relevant companies are completing the necessary procedures to complete the full Saudisation of the Vehicle Claims Management Department, Customer Service and Complaint. The deadline to introduce full Saudisation to these sectors is July 2017. Aljabr added the Agency has given companies sufficient time to complete the procedures and confirmed the Saudisation level in these sectors is 100%.
The Abu Dhabi Police have confirmed the amended Federal Traffic Law (Federal Law No 21/1995) has started to be implemented. It started to be implemented on 1 July in line with UAE Federal Ministerial Decision No. 177/2017 and UAE Federal Ministerial Decision No. 178/2017 on traffic control rules and procedures. Amongst the amendments, all drivers and passengers must wear seatbelts. If they don’t they will be fined 400 AED and incur four traffic points.
The Lebanese Cabinet has approved a new draft election law. The law will be voted on by the parliament this week and changes the electoral system from one based around seats reserved for specific religious sects to proportional representation. There have not been elections in Lebanon since 2009 and this reform is being seen as a way of overcoming this deadlock. However, there has also been an agreement that even following this law’s passage there will be no elections until May 2018 at the earliest.
Saudi Arabia’s Labour and Social Development Ministry has announced the deadline for implementing the next stage of the salary protection programme. The Ministry’s official spokesperson, Khalid Aba Alkhail said stages 11 to 16 of the programme targets enterprises employing 11 to 80 employees. The eleventh stage will be implemented in August 2017 and will target enterprises employing 60 to 79 employees. The aim of the programme is to protect salaries and fine enterprises who fail to pay the salaries on time 3000 Riyals. This fine will be multiplied by the number of employees affected.
The Royal Oman Police have announced a new e-visa system is going to be launched. Applicants will be able to apply through their website and will be available to all countries and nationalities. It is going to be linked to relevant ministries, including the Manpower Ministry for work-permits, the Commerce and Industry Ministry to validate commercial register entries and the Civil Service Ministry for Government visas for foreign civil servants. The aim is to have two visa types. One will be for 67 tourist countries and 116 professions. Another list will be for GCC residents.
The Saudi Labour and Social Development Minister Dr Ali Bin Naser Alghaffed has launched a new electronic portal in the Ministry in Riyadh which will act as an official tool that enables civil associations to disclose their information. The undersecretary of the ministry for social development Dr Salem bin Ahmed Aldini said the portal would enable societies and concerned parties to see the basic, demographic, and financial details of civil associations. The aim is to boost transparency and accountability of these associations.
The Taylor Wessing Middle East employment team together with Links Group will be delivering a half day interactive seminar on company formation, sponsorship and UAE labour law and discussing compliance with the law and best practice in London.
Topics include:
New Ministerial Resolution/Decrees and updates
Standard UAE compensation packages
Disciplinary procedures
Termination
Working hours
Maternity
Sick leave
Annual leave/special leave
Sponsorship arrangements
Repatriation
Labour bans
Post termination restrictions
New Ministerial decrees
Company set-up
UAE sponsorship
This activity equates to 3 hours of CPD.
Programme
10:00am Registration
10:15am Seminar starts
1:00pm Seminar ends
Booking your place
Places cost GBP 100 per head.
Please contact Megan Hulme to reserve your place at the forum.
The UAE civil aviation authority has confirmed that the Qatar air embargo issued by the UAE only applies to airlines which are from Qatar or registered there. Identical statements have been issued by the authorities in Saudi and Bahrain. All Qatari or Qatari registered airlines are banned from landing or transiting airspace in these countries. However, the ban does not cover airlines from other countries who have crossed Qatar airspace. Private planes and charters from Qatar will need permission to transit the airspace of these three countries. Permission will need to be requested from the authorities 24 hours in advance and would need the names and nationalities of crew and passengers and details of cargo.
Kuwait’s National Assembly has approved amendments to the country’s 2010 Private Sector Labour Law (Kuwait Law No. 6/2010). Under the amendments, employees will have the right to receive full end of service benefits, without employer deductions to the Public Institution for Social Security being factored in. Employees will also be entitled to at least 30 days annual leave in their first year after serving at least six months excluding weekends, official holidays and sick leave.
