Resolution No. (1) of 2019

Forming the

Grievances Committee of the Financial Audit Authority[1]

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We, Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Chairman of the Financial Audit Authority,

After perusal of:

Law No. (4) of 2018 Establishing the Financial Audit Authority (the “FAA”);

Law No. (8) of 2018 Concerning Management of the Government of Dubai Human Resources;

Decree No. (23) of 2014 Establishing the Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai;

Decree No. (27) of 2018 Establishing the Central Paramilitary Grievance Committee in Dubai and Approving its Terms of Reference;

Executive Council Resolution No. (41) of 2015 Concerning the Central Grievance Committee of Employees of the Government of Dubai; and

Executive Council Resolution No. (4) of 2019 Approving the Disciplinary, Grievances, and Complaints Code of Employees of the Government of Dubai,

Do hereby issue this Resolution.

Formation of the Grievances Committee

Article (1)

a.     Pursuant to this Resolution, a committee named the “Grievances Committee” (the “Committee”) is formed within the FAA. The Committee will be comprised of:

1.      a representative from the FAA, as chairman;

2.     two representatives from the Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai, as members;

3.     a representative from the FAA, as member; and

4.     a representative from the Auditee for which the grievant Employee works, as member.

b.     The representatives of the entities mentioned in paragraph (a) of this Article will be nominated by the officials in charge of such entities.

c.     The chairman or a member of the Committee must:

1.      not be a spouse or a relative, up to the fourth degree, of the grievant Employee;

2.     not be the Immediate Supervisor, or head of the Organisational Unit, of the grievant Employee;

3.     not be of a grade that is lower than the grade of the grievant Employee;

4.     not be a member of the Grievances and Complaints Committee of the Auditee;

5.     not be a party to the Grievance submitted by the grievant Employee; and

6.     not have previously submitted a report, issued a decision, or given an opinion on the Grievance.

Jurisdiction of the Committee

Article (2)

a.     The Committee will have the jurisdiction to consider and determine the Grievances submitted to it by the Employees of Auditees against any of the following Disciplinary Penalties imposed on them:

1.      the Disciplinary Penalties imposed on the Employee by the Auditee at the request of the FAA, upon establishing that the Employee has committed any of the prohibited acts or violations stipulated in the above-mentioned Law No. (4) of 2018 during his service with the Auditee;

2.     suspension of the violating Employee from work until the FAA investigation is concluded; and

3.     any Disciplinary Penalty stricter than the one imposed by the Work-related Offences Committee of the Auditee, where that Disciplinary Penalty is not commensurate with the gravity of the violation committed by the Employee.

b.     The Committee will not have the jurisdiction to consider Grievances that fall within the jurisdiction of the following entities:

1.      the competent judicial authorities;

2.     the Central Grievance Committee of Employees of the Government of Dubai governed by the above-mentioned Executive Council Resolution No. (41) of 2015 and the resolutions issued in pursuance thereof;

3.     the Central Paramilitary Grievance Committee in Dubai established pursuant to the above-mentioned Decree No. (27) of 2018;

4.     the Grievances and Complaints Committees of Auditees formed pursuant to the above-mentioned Executive Council Resolution No. (4) of 2019; and

5.     the Grievances and Complaints Committees of the Auditees that have legislation regulating the consideration of Grievances and Complaints.

c.     The Committee will not have the jurisdiction to consider Grievances whose subject matter is the same as that of a claim being heard by a judicial authority or in respect of which a definitive court judgment has been issued.

Submission of Grievances

Article (3)

a.     An Employee who submits a Grievance to the Committee may in no way be harmed by his Grievance.

b.     A Grievance will be submitted to the Committee in writing and in accordance with the relevant procedures adopted by it. The Grievance submissions must include the following information:

1.      name of the grievant; and his capacity, post, address, and contact information;

2.     the contested decision and its date of issuance;

3.     grounds for the Grievance, accompanied by supporting documents;

4.     claims of the grievant; and

5.     names of the witnesses, if any, upon whom the grievant relies to support his Grievance.

Powers of the Committee

Article (4)

a.     For the purpose of considering and determining the Grievances submitted to it pursuant to this Resolution, the Committee may:

1.      hear the statements of the grievant, consider any supporting documents, admit and weigh submitted evidence, and assess the relevance of such evidence to the subject matter of the Grievance;

2.     conduct inspections or supplementary investigations; require the submission of necessary documents; and peruse and examine the same, whether by itself or through any other person appointed by it for this purpose;

3.     invite any Employee of the Auditees, or of any other entity of relevance to the subject matter of the Grievance, to attend its hearings;

4.     summon, on its own initiative or upon the request of the grievant, any person, as it deems appropriate, to hear his statement; and

5.     seek assistance from experts and specialists, as it deems appropriate, provided that they do not have a vote in its deliberations.

b.     The Committee may determine a Grievance where it is established that the documents and evidence submitted to it are sufficient to determine that Grievance.

c.     Where it is established to the satisfaction of the Committee, in the course of considering a Grievance, that the subject matter of the same constitutes a Work-related Offence or criminal offence, the Committee must refer the matter to the Auditee to take the appropriate action in this respect in accordance with the legislation in force. The Auditee must regularly update the FAA on the actions taken in respect of the relevant Work-related Offence or criminal offence.

Limitation Periods for Submitting and Determining Grievances

Article (5)

a.     The limitation period for filing a Grievance is fifteen (15) working days from the date on which the Employee becomes aware of the contested decision or measure. Upon the lapse of the limitation period without filing the Grievance with the Committee, the Disciplinary Penalty imposed on the Employee will be deemed final and non-appealable by any method of administrative review.

b.     The Committee must determine any Grievance within thirty (30) days from the date of its submission. The decisions issued by the Committee in respect of the Grievances submitted to it will be final.

c.     A grievant will be notified of the Committee’s decision in respect of his Grievance within five (5) working days from the date of its issuance.

d.     All decisions issued by the Committee on a Grievance will be binding on the grievant Employee and the Auditee for which he works. The Auditee must implement the Committee’s decisions in respect of the Grievance.

e.     An Employee may withdraw, in writing, any Grievance submitted by him before being determined by the Committee. In this case, the Employee may not submit any Grievance in respect of the same subject matter of the withdrawn Grievance without a valid reason acceptable to the Committee.

Procedures and Terms of Reference of the Committee

Article (6)

a.     Hearings and meetings of the Committee will convene at the invitation of its chairman, and will be valid if attended by the majority of the Committee's members, provided that the chairman is in attendance.

b.     The decisions of the Committee will be passed unanimously or by majority vote of the attending members; and in the event of a tie, the Committee chairman will have a casting vote.

c.     The decisions of the Committee must be reasoned.

d.     The decisions of the Committee will be recorded in minutes signed by the Committee chairman and attending members.

e.     The Committee will have a rapporteur selected by the Director General of the FAA. The rapporteur will be responsible for coordinating the meetings and hearings of the Committee, preparing its meeting agendas, recording minutes of its meetings and hearings, following up the implementation of its resolutions and recommendations, and performing any other duties assigned to him by the chairman of the Committee.

Confidentiality

Article (7)

The chairman, members, and rapporteur of the Committee must maintain the confidentiality of the hearings, deliberations, minutes, and information to which they have access in their capacity as members of the Committee; and must not disclose or make a copy of the same without the approval of the Director General of the FAA.

Self-Recusal and Disqualification from Considering Grievances

Article (8)

a.     A chairman or member of the Committee must recuse himself from considering any Grievance where he ceases to meet any of the membership requirements stipulated in paragraph (c) of Article (1) hereof.

b.     Any member of the Committee may request to be recused from considering any Grievance for special considerations. In this case, the chairman of the Committee will have the authority to approve or reject the request for recusal.

c.     A grievant Employee may request disqualification of the chairman or any member of the Committee from considering his Grievance, in any of the cases stipulated in paragraph (c) of Article (1) hereof.

d.     Where the chairman of the Committee recuses himself or is disqualified in accordance with the provisions of this Article, the Director General of the FAA will issue a resolution nominating a replacement chairman.

e.     Where a member of the Committee recuses himself or is disqualified in accordance with the provisions of this Article, the Director General of the FAA will, based on coordination with the entity represented by that member, issue a resolution nominating a replacement member.

Providing Support to the Committee

Article (9)

Auditees must provide all the support required by the Committee to enable it to perform the duties assigned to it under this Resolution. This includes facilitating appearance of any of the Auditees’ Employees before the Committee as required by the Committee; and providing the Committee with the documents, data, and information it requires or deems necessary to enable it to determine the Grievances submitted to it.

Commencement

Article (10)

This Resolution comes into force on the day on which it is issued, and will be published in the Official Gazette.

Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Deputy Ruler of Dubai

Chairman of the Financial Audit Authority

Issued in Dubai on 30 September 2019

Corresponding to 1 Safar 1441 A.H.



©2020 The Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai

[1]Every effort has been made to produce an accurate and complete English version of this legislation. However, for the purpose of its interpretation and application, reference must be made to the original Arabic text. In case of conflict, the Arabic text will prevail.