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What are the penalties for breaking occupational safety rules in the United Arab Emirates?
Part of: Occupational safety and health in United Arab Emirates: law, authorities and employer duties
Short answer
Breaches of UAE labour-law safety duties carry a fine of AED 5,000 to AED 1,000,000 (Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 63), multiplied by the workers affected up to AED 10 million, with imprisonment and/or double fines for repeats within a year, plus MOHRE administrative penalties.
Breaking occupational safety and health (OSH) duties under the UAE labour law, its Implementing Regulation or MOHRE resolutions is punishable by a fine of AED 5,000 to AED 1,000,000 (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 63). Fines on employers are multiplied by the number of workers affected up to AED 10 million, repeat offences within a year can bring imprisonment and/or double fines, and MOHRE can add administrative penalties.
Short answer
| Provision | What it covers | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Decree-Law Art. 63 | Any breach not penalised elsewhere in the law, including OSH duties in the Decree-Law, Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 and ministerial resolutions | AED 5,000 to AED 1,000,000 |
| Art. 62 | Fines on employers | Multiplied by the number of workers affected, maximum AED 10,000,000 |
| Art. 64 | Repeat within one year of a judgment for a similar violation | Imprisonment and/or double the fine |
| Art. 60, as amended by Decree-Law No. 9 of 2024 | Includes employing juveniles in breach of the law | AED 100,000 to AED 1,000,000 |
| Art. 59 | Includes obstructing inspectors | AED 20,000 to AED 100,000 |
| Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Art. 34 | Breaches found by MOHRE | Administrative penalties under Federal Law No. 14 of 2016 |
Amounts are those of the official texts checked in November 2026. Check the consolidated Decree-Law published by MOHRE for later amendments.
How the penalties work
The criminal fines in the Decree-Law are imposed by the courts. Article 63 is the general provision: it catches violations of any provision of the Decree-Law, its Implementing Regulation and the resolutions issued under it, which is where the OSH duties sit (Article 13(6) and 13(13) of the Decree-Law, Article 22 of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022 and the MOHRE administrative decision on OSH). Because Article 62 multiplies employer fines by the number of workers affected, a safety breach affecting a whole crew can reach a far higher figure than the base range.
Alongside the courts, MOHRE has administrative powers. Its inspectors may enter establishments, record violations and write reports (Decree-Law Article 57; Implementing Regulation Article 33), and the Ministry can impose administrative penalties (Article 34). MOHRE announces the summer midday break every year and inspects worksites for compliance. Under the procedure attached to Ministerial Resolution No. 657 of 2022, failing to report a work injury within 48 hours, failing to compensate the worker and giving incorrect data are inspection violations that can end in a warning or a violation report with an administrative fine. The administrative fine amounts are set by Cabinet and ministerial decisions and are not repeated here because they were not verified for 2026.
Other consequences
- Heavier penalties in other laws. Article 58 keeps any more severe penalty in another law, so a fatal accident caused by negligence can lead to criminal prosecution under general criminal law.
- Compensation. The employer pays treatment, wages during treatment (full wage up to six months, then half wage up to six more months) and compensation for disability or death, between AED 18,000 and AED 200,000 for death (Decree-Law Article 37; Cabinet Resolution No. 33 of 2022).
- Worker may leave. If a grave danger known to the employer is not addressed, the worker may leave without notice (Article 45(3)).
- Other regulators. Civil Defence, emirate OSH regulators (such as the OSHAD-SF sector regulators in Abu Dhabi), municipalities and free-zone authorities apply their own sanctions.
Example: An inspector finds 20 workers on an open roof at 13:30 in July with no technical exemption. The breach of the midday-break rule in Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022 is recorded; the employer faces MOHRE administrative penalties and, if prosecuted, a court fine under Article 63 multiplied by the workers affected. A second similar conviction within a year could bring imprisonment or a doubled fine.
Common mistakes
- Reading the base fine as the maximum. The per-worker multiplication can raise it to AED 10 million.
- Quoting old amounts. Article 60 was raised by Decree-Law No. 9 of 2024; check the consolidated text.
- Ignoring civil liability. Compensation and treatment costs come on top of fines.
Related on excodex
- Occupational safety and health in United Arab Emirates: law, authorities and employer duties
- What is the main OSH law in the UAE and who enforces it?
- How and within what time must a workplace accident be reported in the UAE?
Standards and further reading
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Articles 57 to 64: uaelegislation.gov.ae
- Consolidated text with amendments, including Decree-Law No. 9 of 2024: mohre.gov.ae
- Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Articles 33 and 34: uaelegislation.gov.ae
- Cabinet Resolution No. 33 of 2022 on Work Injuries and Occupational Diseases: uaelegislation.gov.ae
- MOHRE, Ministerial Resolution No. 657 of 2022 on work injuries: mohre.gov.ae
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.
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