The Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation Abdul Rahman bin Abdulmanan Al Awar said on Wednesday that the UAE will introduce a new flexible work permit to allow employees of all skills to freelance work. Al Awar clarified that the new freelance work model aimed at enhancing the workforce in the country will be an addition to all the recent reforms announced and implemented by the country.
Currently, an employee in the private sector must have a contract with an employer or multiple employers per the respective companies’ work requirements.
He pointed out that this flexible, remote work model will benefit both employers and employees.
He said such freelance employees can actually work from anywhere in the world.
Al Awar pointed out that the labour reforms introduced in recent years are intended to attract more talent to the UAE and “to make sure that the business community gets more value from their talent and maximise the productivity”.
At the forum, Al Awar spoke on ‘Remote work application within administrative innovation: Agile adaptation of the UAE labour market to the shifting technological landscape’.
He highlighted that the success of the UAE’s labour market, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has proved that the country has an integrated structure to attract talents and expertise and to adopt new work cultures by seizing new opportunities and technological advancements.
The minister said 53 employees work for providing the ministry’s remote services.
He added that with the remote working options, the ministry aims to double the 24,000 jobs that were targeted through the Nafis Emiratisation programme this year.
The programme had recorded a 70 per cent increase in the number of Emiratis working in the private sector in 2022.
