How the Ministry of Labour (MOL) can inspect your company

If you run or are part of an organization in the UAE, you should be aware that the MOL can inspect your company to see if it functions according to the rules and regulations.

The MOL carries out periodic inspections to prepare a report and establish its commitment to the law. Here is the law in the UAE with regards to labour inspections:

1. Only special inspectors attached to the ministry of labour have the powers and prerogative to conduct an inspection. Each labour inspector should be carrying a card certifying their status.

2. Labour inspectors are required to take an oath before the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs that they will respect the law, perform their duties honestly and not reveal any industrial secret or invention even after leaving the service. Labour inspectors have to treat any complaints that they receive as confidential and shall not give any inclinations to the employer or the employer’s representatives about the source of the information.

3. The labour inspector has a variety of responsibilities.

• Ensuring that conditions of work, remuneration, matters relating to health and safety, and the employment of young persons and women is done in accordance with the law.

• Assuming existing provisions are inadequate to remedy a defect, the labour inspector has the responsibility to notify competent authorities and propose a solution.

• Recording and reporting incidents of employers violating the law.

4. Employers and representatives of the employer have to permit and support the authorized and licensed labour inspector to carry out investigations at their facilities and disclose any information necessary towards the performance of the labour inspectors' duties.

5. The labour inspector has the following powers:

• Ability to enter any establishment without a previous notice at any hour of the day and night barring that the labour inspector visits during working hours.

• Cross-verify all documents to be kept in accordance with the law and to copy and make extracts from such documents.

• Investigate and interrogate the employer or any of the employer’s workers individually or in the presence of a witness on any matters concerning compliance with the provisions of the law.

• Take samples of material used for or in connection with industrial or other operations if it is deemed that they are adversely affecting the health and safety of workers to perform an analysis in official laboratories.

• Ensure that notices and announcements with respect to the labour law are posted up at the workplace.

6. The labour inspector must notify the employer of his/her presence at the workplace unless the inspector believes that the matter that has prompted the inspection requires otherwise.

7. If an inspector discovers any violations of the law or regulations, he/she can draw up a report confirming the violation and submit it to the concerned labour department and take any necessary actions against the offender.

8. A labour inspector may request complete administrative authorities and the police to provide any assistance if necessary. If an inspection is made in connection with a matter relating to industrial health, the inspector can be accompanied by a specialized medical practitioner from the Ministry of Health.