In brief:

• UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 25/2010 introduces a number of changes to the job transfer process in the UAE.

• The new rules aim to reduce the control that employers have over employees by liberalising the labour market and bringing it more in line with the ILO's vision.

• Employers must adjust their employment processes to cater for these new rules.

Expatriates living and working in the UAE, are tied to their “sponsor”, usually and for most practical considerations, a sponsor is the employer. Many expatriates come to the UAE and take up jobs only to find that the company wasn't everything it projected itself to be or other opportunities emerge that offer a better fit, but they feel that their hands are tied, either because they are on a fixed term contract or because of the dual-inconvenience associated with the six-month ban before they can change jobs and the required No-Objection Certificate (NOC), that many ex-employers like to withhold.