Summer brings midday break for outdoor workers in UAE

Our Correspondent

DUBAI

Summer will officially start in the UAE on June 21 only, though it already feels like peak summer. This was announced by Ibrahim Al Jarwan, a member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences. He also said that the UAE’s summer months, when temperature reaches over 40 degree Celsius, are expected to last until September 23.

Meanwhile, the noon work ban, which is enforced every year in the country, will begin on June 15. All outside work is to be stopped between 12.30 p.m. to 3 pm when employees should be allowed to rest in a shaded place. The break will last till September 15.

Under the decision, issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, daily working hours, for morning, evening or both shifts, are not to exceed eight hours. If a worker exceeds eight hours within 24 hours, the extra time will be deemed overtime, and the worker should be paid for it, in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Law concerning the Regulation of Labour Relations.

Employers must place a schedule of the daily working hours in a prominent site in the workplace, in Arabic and also in the language the workers understand.

Workers can continue working during the ban if they are doing projects that cannot be postponed for technical reasons – like laying concrete on roads, repairing damaged water pipes, petrol pipes, etc, rectifying  problems in  electrical lines and so on.

Employers who violate the decree will be fined Dh5,000 per person, if labourers are found working during the break hours, and they can be fined up to Dh50,000 if several workers were found working.