In Brief:

• The DIFC is regarded as an autonomous jurisdiction within the UAE, with its own legal regime and self-governing court system and structure. Labour relations are governed by DIFC Law No. 4/2005 (the DIFC Employment Law).

• Analogous to the UK and US anti-discrimination models, the DIFC Employment Law contains express provisions against workplace discrimination on the grounds of a person's gender, marital status, race, nationality, religion or disability.

• In contrast to the UK and US anti-discrimination models, to date, there is no effective remedy for compensation under the DIFC Employment Law for breach of laws prohibiting discrimination.

Discrimination models - DIFC as compared with position in the UK and US

DIFC

Protection from discrimination is provided by the DIFC Employment Law. The rationale of the DIFC Employment Law is to ensure, amongst other things, that all employees based within, or ordinarily working within or from, the DIFC, are treated in accordance with ‘minimum international standards and conditions of employment.’