MOHRE Employment Contracts: Offer, Types and What Changed
Every private-sector job in the UAE now runs on a fixed-term contract on a MOHRE form. The offer comes first, the contract has to match it, and the open-ended “unlimited” contract people still search for was converted out of existence by Article 68 of the labour law — not by rumour, by a clause.
This guide quotes the law and its executive regulations on the offer letter, the six contract forms and the change made in 2022, with every figure sourced. Our PRO services desk files offers, contracts and work permits; our guide to the UAE work permit and labour card covers the permit the contract hangs off.
The offer letter comes before the contract, and the contract must match it
The federal portal’s employment of expatriates page, updated 4 July 2025, puts the sequence plainly:
“your employer in the UAE must first issue you an official work offer that conforms to the standard employment contract adopted in the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation” — and then “The employment offer must be duly signed by both the employer and employee, and registered with the ministry and at that point, the employer can apply for a work permit for the employee.”
Ministerial Decree No. 46 of 2022, issued 3 February 2022, says what the contract may and may not do about that offer. Article 2(1) requires the employer to:
“Utilise the approved standard employment contract that conforms with the job offer when requesting the issuance of the work permit. It is permissible to add more benefits to the worker in the contract than those mentioned in the job offer”.
So the contract can be better than the offer. The rule runs one way.
Article 1 of the same decree sets where the forms come from: “the contract between the employer and the worker is concluded in accordance with the standard employment offers and contracts approved by the Ministry and listed on its website.”
And Article 2(2) sets a retention duty that employers forget: keep a digital or hard copy of both the offer and the contract “for no less than two years from the date of expiry or termination of the employment relationship.”
The federal portal also publishes a way to check an offer before you accept it: MOHRE runs an eService to inquire about a job offer’s authenticity, and a toll-free line, 800 60, from inside the UAE.
What Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021 changed
The law came into force on 2 February 2022 and, in Article 73 as issued, “Federal Law No. (8) of 1980 regulating employment relationships shall be abrogated.”
On the question everyone asks — whether the unlimited contract is gone — the law answers directly. Article 68, “Regularisation”, in the consolidated text on the official legislation portal (last updated 29 July 2024):
“1. The provisions of this Decree by law shall apply to indefinite-term employment contracts concluded in accordance with the aforementioned Federal Law No. (8) of 1980.”
“2. Employers must rectify their situation and convert indefinite-term employment contracts into fixed-term employment contracts, in accordance with the conditions, controls and procedures stipulated in this Decree by law within one year as of the date of its entry into force; and the Minister may extend this period for other periods as required by the public interest.”
“3. Subject to the provisions of Clause (2) of this Article, the Employer may calculate the end-of-service gratuity in accordance with the provisions of the indefinite-term employment contract stipulated in the aforementioned Federal Law No. (8) of 1980.”
Three things worth separating out of that. The law calls them indefinite-term and fixed-term, not unlimited and limited. The conversion was an obligation on employers with a one-year deadline, not an automatic event. And clause 3 preserves an option on gratuity calculation for service under the old contract.
The federal portal states the same rule in the market’s vocabulary on its employment contracts page, updated 12 August 2026: “The law also stipulates that unlimited employment contracts are to be converted into fixed-term employment contracts, in accordance with this decree law, within one year of the effective date of the existing contract”.
How long a fixed-term contract may run
Article 8(3) in the consolidated text reads:
“The employment contract shall be concluded for a definite period, renewable, based upon the parties’ agreement.”
The law as issued in 2021 set a maximum of three years — the English PDF of the original text hosted on the federal portal reads “a specific term not exceeding (3) three years”. That is why older material and older templates refer to a three-year cap. For the wording in force, the legislation portal’s consolidated text is the one to read, and it carries an amendment count and a last-updated date on the page.
Both versions agree on what happens at the end. Article 8(4): extensions and renewals are “deemed to be an extension of the original period and shall be added thereto when calculating the Worker’s continuous service period.” And the portal adds: if the contract is not renewed and both sides carry on performing it, it “is then considered renewed under the same terms and conditions as those of the original contract.”
The original English PDF carries a line on every page: “This is NOT an official translation”. The legislation portal’s own disclaimer says that in case of conflict, the Arabic text prevails.
The six contract forms
Article 7 of the law lists four work types and then leaves the door open: “Any other types specified by the Executive Regulation of this Decree by law.” Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 walked through that door twice. Article 10(4) now lists the forms:
| Form | What the source says it is | Where it is defined |
|---|---|---|
| Full time | “working for one employer for the full daily working hours throughout business days” | Law, Art 7(1)(a) |
| Part time | “working for one or multiple employers for a specified number of working hours or days” | Law, Art 7(1)(b) |
| Temporary | “work of which nature requires a specific period of time, or which focuses on a specific job and ends by the completion thereof” | Law, Art 7(1)(c) |
| Flexible | “work of which hours or working days change according to the volume of work and the economic and operational variables of the Employer” | Law, Art 7(1)(d) |
| Remote | “the work is performed wholly or partially outside the workplace”, with the connection between worker and employer “electronic instead of the physical presence” | Cabinet Resolution 1 of 2022, Art 5(1)(a) |
| Job sharing | tasks and duties shared between more than one worker; the shared arrangement “shall reflect on the wage due to each of them in order to be proportionate”, and “Workers shall be treated in accordance with the controls of parttime jobs” | Cabinet Resolution 1 of 2022, Art 5(1)(b) |
Article 10(4) closes with “Any other employment contract templates stipulated in a resolution issued by the Minister”, and Article 5(2) with “The Ministry may create other work models based on the requirements of the labour market.” The list is designed to grow.
Two practical consequences. A job-sharing contract is governed by the part-time rules, so leave and benefits follow the part-time treatment. And a remote contract is a contract form in its own right, not a side letter attached to a full-time one.
Probation, as published
The portal sets out the probation rules on the same page, and they are symmetrical in an unusual way:
- Maximum six months, and it cannot be extended for another term. Time served counts towards service.
- The employer terminating during probation gives 14 days’ prior written notice.
- A worker moving to another UAE employer during probation gives the current employer one month’s written notice, and the new employer compensates the current one for recruitment costs unless otherwise agreed.
- A worker resigning to leave the UAE gives 14 days’ written notice.
- If that worker returns within three months on a new work permit, the new employer becomes liable for the previous employer’s recruitment costs.
The asymmetry is the point: one month to move within the country, fourteen days to leave it.
Non-compete clauses have a published ceiling
From the portal: “Article 10 of the UAE Labour Law permits employers to include non-compete restrictions in the employment contracts. These restrictions must be limited to the extent necessary to protect the business’s legitimate interests and defined in respect of time, place and the nature of work. The maximum restrictive period is for two years from the date of the expiry of the employment contract.”
Time, place and nature of work — all three have to be defined. A clause that names none of them is not what Article 10 describes.
The national student contract
One form sits outside the six and is easy to miss. The portal describes a national student employment contract between an employer and a student on a programme approved and supported by Nafis, under professions and specialties determined by MOHRE. It is full time, “with a salary of at least AED 4000 per month”, runs one year renewable until graduation, and — the line that matters to employers — “The national student employment contract is included in the Emiratisation percentage required by the company.” The portal cites Ministerial Resolution No. 240 of 2023.
If your company is inside the Emiratisation targets, see our guide to Emiratisation in the private sector for how that counting works.
What happens if the work permit paperwork slips
Ministerial Decree 46 of 2022 lists cases where an employer is “not considered late” in issuing or renewing a work permit — among them a worker outside the country for more than six months, a worker whose complaint the ministry referred to court, imprisonment or detention, and the death of a sole-manager owner, “for a maximum period of three months from the date of death until a legal representative is duly appointed”.
Article 4 of the same decree sets out the consequence of unpaid fines: establishments that do not pay cannot issue new permits or renew expired ones until they do, and after four months the suspension extends to all establishments exclusively owned by the same owner, on the condition that partners in all companies are the same.
What is not published anywhere official
- The contract templates themselves as documents. Ministerial Decree 46 points to forms “listed on” the ministry’s website; the decree does not reproduce them, and we are not reproducing them here either.
- A minimum wage for expatriate private-sector workers. The AED 6,000 minimum the federal portal publishes is for Emiratis in the private sector, from 1 January 2026.
- Whether a signed offer binds the employer if the work permit is refused. Neither the law nor the decree addresses it.
- How quickly a contract amendment must be registered with MOHRE after the parties agree it.
- Which of the six forms a given job must use. The forms are defined; the choice is not prescribed.
- A fee for registering the contract separately from the work permit fees.
Our advice — practical guidance, not a rule
Marked as advice because no official page prescribes it.
- Read the offer against the contract line by line before signing the contract. The decree permits the contract to add benefits; it does not permit it to take them away.
- Check the job offer through MOHRE’s own eService before you resign from anything. The portal publishes the channel and the toll-free number for exactly this.
- Put the end date in the diary the day the contract is signed. Fixed term means an end date, and renewals are added to continuous service.
- Keep the offer, not just the contract. The two-year retention duty in Article 2(2) covers both, and the offer is the document that proves what was agreed first.
- Pick the work pattern deliberately. Job sharing imports the part-time rules; remote work is its own form. Choosing the wrong form is harder to unpick later than choosing it carefully now.
- If a clause restricts where you can work next, check it names a time, a place and a type of work. Article 10 describes all three, and caps the period at two years.
If you would rather have offers, contracts and permits filed for you, our PRO services desk handles MOHRE work end to end and says plainly which steps are published requirements. Fees are quoted on request.
Frequently asked questions
Were limited and unlimited contracts replaced in the UAE?
Article 68 of Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021 requires employers to “convert indefinite-term employment contracts into fixed-term employment contracts” within one year of the law entering into force, with the Minister able to extend that period. The law uses the words indefinite-term and fixed-term.
How long can a UAE employment contract be?
The consolidated text of Article 8(3) says the contract “shall be concluded for a definite period, renewable, based upon the parties’ agreement”. The law as issued in 2021 set a maximum of three years, which is why older templates refer to that cap.
What are the contract types under MOHRE?
Six: full time, part time, temporary, flexible, remote, and employment sharing, plus any other template the Minister issues by resolution. Article 10(4) of Cabinet Resolution 1 of 2022 lists them.
Does the contract have to match the offer letter?
Ministerial Decree 46 of 2022 requires the employer to use the approved standard contract “that conforms with the job offer”, and permits adding more benefits in the contract than the offer mentioned.
How can I check whether a UAE job offer is genuine?
The federal portal points to a MOHRE eService to inquire about a job offer’s authenticity and a toll-free number, 800 60, from within the UAE.
How long is probation in the UAE?
No more than six months, and it cannot be extended for another term. If the worker passes it and continues, the probation period counts within the term of service.
How much notice do I give to leave during probation?
One month in writing to move to another employer inside the UAE, or 14 days in writing to leave the country. The employer gives 14 days’ written notice to terminate during probation.
Is a non-compete clause enforceable in the UAE?
The portal states that Article 10 permits them, that they must be limited to what is necessary and defined by time, place and nature of work, and that the maximum restrictive period is two years from the expiry of the contract.
How long must an employer keep the contract?
Not less than two years from the date of expiry or termination of the employment relationship, for both the job offer and the contract, under Article 2(2) of Ministerial Decree 46 of 2022.
Does a job-sharing contract get full-time benefits?
Cabinet Resolution 1 of 2022 says workers under a shared-work arrangement “shall be treated in accordance with the controls of parttime jobs”, and that the sharing is reflected proportionately in each worker’s wage.