Managing Workplace Harassment, Discrimination and Bullying in the United Arab Emirates

Analysis

Managing workplace harassment, discrimination and bullying is an increasingly topical issue in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as employers are encountering complaints of this nature more frequently. Whilst there is no free standing anti-harassment law in the UAE, there are a number of legal provisions which may be triggered in the context of workplace harassment, discrimination and/or bullying (including the Anti-Discrimination Law (Federal Decree No. 2/2015) which was introduced last year). This article explores some of the key legal provisions to consider in relation to workplace harassment, discrimination and bullying together with some practical ways of managing such issues.

Is harassment, discrimination and/or bullying a criminal offence?

Whether or not workplace harassment, discrimination and/or bullying amounts to a criminal offence largely depends on the subject matter of the conduct.

For example, comments of a sexual nature could potentially amount to an offence under the Penal Code (Federal Law No. 3/1987).

Derogatory comments relating to religion could potentially trigger criminal liability under either the Penal Code (which includes blaspheming any of the divine recognised religions) or the more recently introduced Anti Discrimination Law.