Is a written risk assessment mandatory in the United Arab Emirates, and how often must it be reviewed?

Yes. Every private-sector employer must keep an occupational safety and health (OSH) management system that includes risk assessment and preventive measures, and must record the risk assessments in an OSH register available to inspectors. The federal texts do not set a fixed review interval, so the assessment must be kept current: review it whenever work, equipment or the site changes, after incidents, and as part of the periodic compliance evaluation the law requires.

Short answer

• Legal basis: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 13(6) (prevention and periodic evaluation of OSH compliance), Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 22, and MOHRE Administrative Decision No. 19 of 2023, Articles 2, 3 and 10 (this decision replaced Administrative Decision No. 28 of 2022 in August 2023).
• Form: written, because the OSH register must contain the risk assessments and the OSH system must be documented.
• Who: in industrial establishments and in construction establishments with 100 or more workers the OSH officer leads it; elsewhere the employer names a competent person.
• Review: no fixed federal interval; keep it up to date and review on change. Emirate frameworks (Abu Dhabi's OSHAD-SF) and client contracts can set their own review rules.

What the law requires

Article 13(6) of the Decree-Law obliges the employer to provide the means of prevention against occupational injuries and diseases and to carry out periodic evaluation to ensure that all parties comply with OSH requirements. Article 22 of the Implementing Regulation requires the employer to inform workers of the risks of their job before they start and to take practical measures to prevent, reduce or eliminate health hazards.

Administrative Decision No. 19 of 2023 makes the process explicit:

• Article 2 lists the 15 elements of the OSH management system, one of which is risk assessment and preventive measures; others are emergency response, training, contractor control, maintenance and inspection dates, incident investigation and corrective action.
• Article 3 requires an OSH register containing, among other records, the risk assessments, workplace inspections and measurements, training and medical examinations.
• Article 10 gives the OSH officer the duty to analyse the hazards, plan the controls and set annual OSH objectives.

The system must be proportionate to the size, activity and workforce of the establishment, so a small office needs a short assessment and a chemical plant a detailed one.

When to review it

Because no interval is fixed, the test is whether the assessment still describes the real work. Review it:

Many organisations add a fixed annual review as good practice, often timed with the annual OSH objectives the OSH officer sets. That is guidance, not a federal legal interval.

Common mistakes

• Keeping the assessment only in an ISO 45001 file. MOHRE inspectors expect it in the OSH register with the other records.
• Never updating it. An assessment written at licensing and never revised does not meet the duty of continuous protection.
• Forgetting emirate frameworks. In Abu Dhabi, OSHAD-SF and the sector regulator may set specific risk management requirements.

Related on excodex

• Occupational safety and health in United Arab Emirates: law, authorities and employer duties
• Workplace risk assessment: process, team, records and review
• Must a UAE employer appoint a safety professional or occupational physician?
• Heat stress, WBGT and thermal comfort

Standards and further reading

• Administrative Decision No. 19 of 2023, Articles 2, 3 and 10: government.ae
• Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 13: uaelegislation.gov.ae
• Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 22: uaelegislation.gov.ae
• ISO 45001, OSH management systems, requirements with guidance for use.

This article is general occupational safety and health information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable legislation, standards, manufacturers' instructions or the assessment of a competent OSH professional or occupational physician.