Employment
Employment in the UAE is governed by three regimes. On the mainland, Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and its executive regulations apply, administered by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). In the DIFC, the DIFC Employment Law (No. 2 of 2019) applies. In the ADGM, the ADGM Employment Regulations 2024 apply. Other free zones fall under the federal regime but add rules of their own.
We advise and represent employers and employees under each regime – contracts, onboarding, workplace policies, payroll, Wage Protection System (WPS) compliance, termination, and disputes. Through offices in both countries, we coordinate employment advice across the UAE–India corridor.
A workforce across both sides, advised by one team.
Multinational employers often split employment work across two sets of advisers — one in India, one in the UAE — with duplicated instructions and the risk of contracts and policy that drift apart. Our presence in both jurisdictions means a single team advises across the whole workforce: consistent documentation, coordinated compliance, and one position carried through every entity.
One team, both jurisdictions
India-enrolled advocates and UAE practitioners under a single advisory relationship.
Consistent contracts & policy
Group contracts and handbooks harmonised across India, mainland UAE, the DIFC and ADGM, each drafted to its own governing law.
Workforce mobility
Secondments and expatriate moves between Indian and UAE entities structured for tax, immigration and continuity of service.
How we run cross-border employment work.
Dual-jurisdiction bench
Experienced teams in both India and the UAE, advising across central and state labour law, mainland UAE, the DIFC and ADGM.
Compliance as an enabler
Statutory obligations handled as part of running the business, not a procedural burden — applied early to prevent disputes.
Documentary precision
Contracts, policies and settlements drafted to withstand scrutiny before MOHRE, the UAE courts and the Indian tribunals.
Commercial alignment
Every workforce decision measured against the client’s wider objectives — risk balanced against operational practicality.
Discretion on senior matters
Executive exits and sensitive investigations managed with the confidentiality and care those matters demand.
English and Arabic
Advice and proceedings handled in English and Arabic, with coordination across borders when a matter touches both jurisdictions.
Mandates are led by the firm’s employment and labour team across the India and UAE offices.
Selected employment matters.
- Contract harmonisationAdvised a corporate group operating across multiple jurisdictions on harmonising employment contracts following a regional restructuring, mapping jurisdiction-specific compliance and protecting continuity of service across the affected workforce.
- Executive exitActed for a professional services firm on a complex senior executive termination, negotiating settlement terms and confidentiality obligations and achieving a documented resolution without formal tribunal or court proceedings.
- Workforce rationalisationSupported an employer through a workforce rationalisation exercise — statutory compensation, full and final settlement documentation and dispute-sensitive communication — and acted in the related proceedings before the Labour Commissioner and Labour Court.
- UAE disputeActed for an employee whose passport and dues were withheld after termination, securing the prompt return of her passport and recovery of outstanding salary, end-of-service benefits and repatriation expenses.
Employment across the corridor, answered.
We employ staff in both India and the UAE — can one firm advise across the workforce?
Can our employment contracts and HR policies be kept consistent across jurisdictions?
How do you manage a termination or restructuring that affects employees in both countries?
How do the UAE free-zone regimes differ from mainland UAE and from India?
Prefer to start by jurisdiction?
The full India or UAE employment practice. A workforce that spans both is run as a single relationship across the corridor.
Employment Law — India
Contracts and Labour Code compliance, termination and gratuity, POSH, employment in M&A, workforce restructuring, and disputes before the Labour Courts and Industrial Tribunals.
View the India practice
Employment Law — UAE
Mainland employment under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, the DIFC and ADGM regimes, contracts and WPS, end-of-service benefits, and disputes before MOHRE and the courts.
View the UAE practice
Contact us
We act for clients in both jurisdictions through offices in the UAE and India.