Executive Council Resolution No. (4) of 2019
Approving the Disciplinary Penalties, Grievances,
and Complaints
Code of Employees of the Government of Dubai[1]
ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ
We,
Hamdan bin
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the
Executive Council,
After perusal of:
Law No. (3)
of 2003 Establishing the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai;
Law No. (31) of 2009 Establishing the Dubai
Government Human Resources Department and its amendments;
Law No. (4) of 2018 Establishing the Financial
Audit Authority;
Law No. (8) of 2018 Concerning Management of the
Government of Dubai Human Resources;
Executive Council Resolution No. (41) of 2015
Concerning the Central Grievances Committee of Employees of the Government of
Dubai; and
Executive Council Resolution No. (39) of 2018
Concerning the Performance Management System of Employees of the Government of Dubai,
Do hereby issue this
Resolution.
Pursuant to this Resolution, the Disciplinary Penalties,
Grievances, and Complaints Code of Employees of the Government of Dubai (the “Code”) attached hereto, inclusive of
the rules and procedures stipulated therein, is approved.
The attached Code will apply to:
1.
the civilian
Employees working in the Government Entities to whom the above-mentioned Law
No. (8) of 2018 applies; and
2.
any work-related
offence, grievance, or complaint in respect of which no final decision is
issued; and any relevant procedures pending completion by the effective date of
this Resolution.
All Government Entities, whose Employees are subject to
the provisions of the above-mentioned Law No. (8) of 2018, must fully comply
with the attached Code and take the necessary action required for its
implementation, under pain of invalidity of the decisions and procedures taken
in violation thereof.
All procedures adopted and all decisions issued during
the period from 1 January 2019 until the effective date of this Resolution, in
respect of the work-related offences committed by, the disciplinary penalties
imposed on, or the grievances and complaints submitted by the Employees of the
Government Entities that are subject to the provisions of the above-mentioned
Law No. (8) of 2018, will be deemed valid as if issued and adopted in
accordance with the provisions of the attached Code, unless such procedures and
decisions contradict the principles of justice and equity, and the rules of
truth and fairness.
This Resolution will be published in the Official Gazette
and will come into force on the day on which it is published.
Hamdan bin
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Crown Prince
of Dubai
Chairman of the Executive
Council
Issued in Dubai on 17 April 2019
Corresponding to 12 Shaban 1440 A.H.
Disciplinary
Penalties, Grievances, and Complaints Code of
Employees of the
Government of Dubai
ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ
The following words and expressions, wherever mentioned
in this Code, will have the meaning indicated opposite each of them unless the
context implies otherwise:
|
Government: |
The Government of Dubai. |
|
|
|
Law: |
Law No. (8) of 2018
Concerning Management of the Government of Dubai Human Resources. |
|
|
|
Department: |
Any of the Government
departments; public agencies or corporations; or councils and authorities
affiliated to the Government, which are subject to the Law. |
|
|
|
Director General: |
A director general of a Department,
including an executive director / chief executive officer, a secretary
general, or any other person in a similar position. |
|
|
|
Work-related Offences
Committee: |
A committee formed by a
Department pursuant to the Law to consider and determine Work-related
Offences referred to it, and to impose Disciplinary Penalties on violating
Employees, in accordance with the rules and procedures stipulated in this
Code. |
|
|
|
Grievances and
Complaints Committee: |
A committee formed by a
Department pursuant to the Law to consider and determine the Grievances and
Complaints filed with it by the Employees of that Department, in accordance
with the rules and procedures stipulated in this Code. |
|
|
|
Human Resources Directorate: |
The organisational unit
responsible for managing Employee’s affairs within a Department. |
|
|
|
Employee: |
A male or female person
who occupies a budgeted post in a Department. |
|
|
|
Work-related Offence: |
Any act or omission
attributed to an Employee and which constitutes a violation of the
legislation in force that are relevant to the Employee's post, employment
duties, the code of professional conduct, or the ethics of public service; or
a breach of his other employment duties. |
|
|
|
Disciplinary Penalty: |
A penalty imposed on an
Employee upon establishing that he has committed a Work-related Offence, in
accordance with the rules and procedures stipulated in this Code. |
|
|
|
Grievance: |
A written objection
filed, in accordance with the provisions of this Code, by an Employee against
an administrative decision issued against him. |
|
|
|
Complaint: |
A written request filed
by an Employee in accordance with the provisions of this Code for redressing
the harm suffered by him within the work environment or on account of
performing his employment duties. |
|
|
|
Organisational Unit: |
This includes any
sector, directorate, division, section, or other similar unit within a
Department. |
|
|
|
Head of Organisational
Unit: |
An Employee who is
responsible for supervising an Organisational Unit and who is at a management
level not lower than “head of directorate”. |
|
|
|
Immediate Supervisor: |
An Employee who
undertakes direct supervision of the performance of the Employees of an
Organisational Unit. |
|
|
|
Year: |
|
A year measured based on
the Gregorian calendar. |
|
This Code aims to:
1. promote the principles of transparency, justice,
accountability, and equal opportunity amongst Employees;
2. promote the principles of legitimacy through
encouraging compliance with the legislation regulating public service and the
rules of the code of proper professional conduct;
3. provide an effective accountability and
disciplinary system that ensures that the Employees’ rights and obligations are
respected;
4. create a favourable work environment, and address
and endeavour to overcome, the difficulties faced by Employees;
5. implement a disciplinary system that upholds the
impartiality and objectivity principles, and minimise negative behaviour in the
work environment;
6. give Employees the opportunity to submit
Grievances in respect of the decisions and measures that affect their legal and
professional standing; and
7. ensure that justice, job satisfaction, and job
stability are achieved for Employees.
a.
Without prejudice to any civil or
criminal liability, where applicable, a Disciplinary Penalty will be imposed on
any Employee who breaches the employment duties stipulated in the Law, the
legislation issued in pursuance thereof, and the legislation and instructions
relevant to his Department; or who fails to comply with the ethics of public
service or his own employment duties.
b.
An Employee
will be exempt from Disciplinary Penalty only if it is proven that he has
committed the relevant Work-related Offence in implementation of an order
issued by any of his supervisors after alerting him to the offence, in which
case the person who issues the order will be held responsible.
a. One or more committees named the “Work-related
Offences Committee” will be formed in each Department pursuant to a resolution
of its Director General. The Work-related Offences Committee will be comprised
of a chairman, a vice chairman, and three (3) members selected from among the
Employees of the Department. Members of the Work-related Offences Committee
must include specialists in human resources and legal affairs.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of
this Article, the Work-related Offences Committee may include members from
outside of the Department where it has no specialists in human resources and
legal affairs.
c. The vice chairman of the Work-related Offences
Committee will exercise the powers of the chairman of the committee where the
chairman is absent or becomes incapable of performing his duties.
d. The grade of a member of the Work-related Offences
Committee must not be lower than thirteen (13) or an equivalent grade, and he
must not be a member of the Grievances and Complaints Committee. In any event,
the grade of the chairman of the Work-related Offences Committee must not be
lower than the grade of the Employee referred to the committee.
e. Meetings of the Work-related Offences Committee
will be valid if attended by the majority of its members, provided that the
chairman or vice chairman is in attendance. Resolutions and recommendations of
the Work-related Offences Committee will be passed by majority vote of
attending members, and in the event of a tie, the chair of the meeting will
have a casting vote.
f. The Work-related Offences Committee will have a
rapporteur selected by the Director General. The rapporteur will be responsible
for coordinating the meetings of the committee, preparing its meeting agendas,
recording minutes of its meetings, following up the implementation of its
resolutions and recommendations, and performing any other duties assigned to
him by the chairman of the Work-related Offences Committee.
The Work-related Offences Committee will have the duties
and powers to:
1. interview the Employee in respect of the
Work-related Offence attributed to him, and interview any other Employee
involved in such an offence;
2. hear the statements of witnesses, experts, and
specialists;
3. review the files and documents, and request any
information and data relevant to the subject matter of the Work-related Offence
referred to it;
4. determine the Work-related Offences referred to
it;
5. impose the appropriate Disciplinary Penalty on the
Employee upon establishing that he has committed the Work-related Offence
attributed to him;
6. close the investigation without holding the Employee
referred to it disciplinarily liable, if it is established that the incident
attributed to him does not constitute a Work-related Offence; that the Employee
has not committed such an offence, or that the Employee has committed the
relevant Work-related Offence in implementation of an order issued by any of
his supervisors after alerting him to that offence;
7. make recommendations to the Director General to
refer the Employee who has committed a Work-related Offence that constitutes a
criminal offence to the competent judicial authorities;
8. verify the validity of the reason given by the
Employee whose service is terminated under the Law due to continued absence
from work or failure to report to work without a prior permission or a valid
reason; and
9. make recommendations to the Director General to
disciplinarily terminate the service of the Employee where so warranted by the
Work-related Offence he has committed.
a. Where an Employee commits a Work-related Offence,
his Immediate Supervisor must prepare a detailed report on that offence and
present it to the Head of the Organisational Unit within five (5) working days
from the date on which the Immediate Supervisor becomes aware of the committed
offence.
b. Where the Work-related Offence attributed to the
Employee is deemed by the Head of the Organisational Unit as warranting a
Disciplinary Penalty, he must refer the Employee to the Work-related Offences
Committee within five (5) working days from the date on which the matter is
referred to him by the Immediate Supervisor, and must notify the Employee in
writing of the same.
c. Where the incident attributed to the Employee is
deemed as not warranting a Disciplinary Penalty, he may close the
investigation, provided that his decision in this respect is reasoned.
d. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Article,
the Director General may directly refer the Employee to the Work-related
Offences Committee to consider the Work-related Offences attributed to him.
a. The Work-related Offences Committee must
investigate Work-related Offences referred to it and issue its final decision
thereon within thirty (30) working days from the referral date of the same. The
Director General may, upon the recommendation of the Work-related Offences
Committee, extend this period once for the same period unless the Employee is
referred to the competent judicial entity. In this case, the Work-related
Offences Committee must issue its decision within fifteen (15) working days
from the date of receiving the definitive judicial decision or judgement issued
against the Employee.
b.
Where no
decision is issued by the Work-related Offences Committee within the time frame
referred to in paragraph (a) of this Article, the Work-related Offences
Committee must submit a report to the Director General citing the reasons for
not issuing such a decision. In this case, the Director General may close the
investigation or require the Work-related Offences Committee to continue to
consider the Work-related
Offence within the time frame he determines. Where the investigation is closed,
the decision for closing the investigation must be reasoned.
a.
In considering and determining Work-related Offences referred to it,
the Work-related Offences Committee must follow the following procedures:
1. The Employee referred to the Work-related Offences Committee will be
notified in writing of the Work-related Offence attributed to him, and will be
summoned to appear before the Work-related Offences Committee on the date it
determines. The relevant notice must be served at least three (3) working days
before the date on which the Employee is to appear before the Work-related
Offences Committee.
2.
The
Employee will be granted access to all documents relevant to the incident
subject matter of the investigation in the manner determined by the
Work-related Offences Committee; and he will be allowed to present his relevant defences and objections.
b.
Where an Employee
is unable to appear before the Work-related Offences Committee on the scheduled
date for any reason acceptable to the committee, a new date will be scheduled
for the Employee to appear. In this case, the Employee will be notified in
writing at least three (3) working days before the rescheduled appearance.
c.
Failure by an
Employee to appear before the Work-related Offences Committee or failure by the
Employee to sign the administrative investigation report will not preclude the
Work-related Offences Committee from completing the procedures for considering
and determining the Work-related Offence referred to it based on the available
evidence and documents.
d.
Where it is established to the Work-related
Offences Committee that the Work-related Offence attributed to the Employee
constitutes a criminal offence, the committee must make a recommendation to the
Director General to refer the Employee and the relevant investigation report to
the competent judicial entity. Referral of an Employee to the competent
judicial entity will not preclude from imposing any Disciplinary Penalty on the
Employee, unless determining the Work-related Offence is contingent upon
determining the criminal liability. In this case, the administrative
investigation proceedings will be suspended until the criminal liability is
determined.
An administrative investigation report issued by the
Work-related Offences Committee must contain the following details:
1. date and venue of the hearing;
2. name, position, grade, and organisational unit of
the Employee referred for investigation;
3. description of the Work-related Offence attributed
to the Employee;
4. names of the chairman and attending members of the
Work-related Offences Committee;
5. the statement and defence of the Employee;
6. statements of the witnesses and specialised
Employees;
7. signatures of the Employee under investigation,
the chairman and attending members of the Work-related Offences Committee, and
any other person who gave a statement before the committee; and
8. any other information prescribed by the
Work-related Offences Committee.
In imposing Disciplinary Penalties on Employees, the
following rules and principles must be observed:
1. Objectivity, impartiality, and integrity must be
upheld in investigating Work-related Offences in order to find the truth.
2. A Disciplinary Penalty may be imposed on an
Employee only after he is interrogated in writing and given the opportunity to
state his case and defend himself.
3. Only one Disciplinary Penalty may be imposed on
the Employee for a single Work-related Offence.
4. A Disciplinary Penalty must be commensurate with
the nature and gravity of the committed Work-related Offence.
5. The decision imposing the Disciplinary Penalty on
the Employee must be reasoned.
6. Only the Disciplinary Penalties stipulated in this
Code may be imposed.
a. Pursuant to a written and reasoned decision by the
Director General or the Work-related Offences Committee, an Employee to whom a
Work-related Offence is attributed may be suspended from work, where required
in the interests of the investigation. In this case, the period of suspension
from work must not exceed the period prescribed in paragraph (a) of Article (7)
of this Code for determining the Work-related Offence.
b. Where an Employee is suspended under the
provisions of paragraph (a) of this Article, he will be paid his Basic Salary
for the whole period of suspension. Where the investigation is closed or it is
decided that the Employee will not be held disciplinarily liable, he will be
paid the amounts withheld from his salary. Where a Disciplinary Penalty is
imposed on the Employee, the Work-related Offences Committee will have
discretion in determining whether to pay any amounts withheld from the
Employee’s salary, provided that the Work-related Offences Committee observes
the provisions of Article (19) of this Code.
a. Where an Employee is referred to the competent
judicial entities for committing a crime relating to or arising out of his
post, and is remanded in custody, he will be deemed suspended from work for the
whole period of remand. In this case, the Employee will be paid his Basic
Salary until a definitive judicial decision or judgement is issued on the crime
attributed to him by the competent judicial entity.
b. Where an Employee is referred to the competent
judicial entities for committing a crime relating to or arising out of his
post, and is not remanded in custody, he may be suspended from work by a
resolution of the Director General. In this case, the Employee will be paid his
Basic Salary until a definitive judicial decision or judgement is issued on the
crime attributed to him by the competent judicial entity.
c. After the issuance of a definitive judicial
decision or judgement against the Employee referred to the competent judicial
entities for committing a crime related to or arising out of his post, his
Department must:
1. reinstate the Employee to his post or any other
similar post that is commensurate with his qualifications and experience and
pay all amounts withheld from his salary during suspension from work where the
investigation is closed; a decision is issued that there are no grounds for
criminal prosecution; or a court judgement acquitting him of the charges
attributed to him is rendered;
2. reinstate the Employee to his post or any other
similar post that is commensurate with his qualifications and experience
without releasing any amounts withheld from his salary during suspension from
work where the Employee is convicted of a misdemeanour not affecting honour or
trustworthiness and for which he has been sentenced to imprisonment for no more
than three (3) months; placed under electronic monitoring; or granted a stay of
the execution of the sentence issued against him;
3. terminate the service of the Employee, where he is
convicted of a crime not affecting honour or trustworthiness, and is sentenced
to a custodial sentence not exceeding three (3) months; or
4. terminate the service of the Employee, where he is
convicted of a crime affecting honour or trustworthiness.
a. No Disciplinary Penalty may be imposed on an
Employee for any act that is not related to his post or that does not undermine
the ethics of public service or the reputation of the Department.
b. Where an Employee is referred to the competent
judicial entities for committing a crime not relating to or arising out of his
post and is remanded in custody, he will be deemed suspended from work for the
whole period of remand. This period will not be deemed part of his actual
period of service and he will not be paid any salary or other
employment-related financial entitlements.
c. An Employee who is referred to the competent
judicial entities for committing a crime not relating to or arising out of his
post will be subject to the following:
1. Where a decision is issued to close the
investigation or that there are no grounds for filing a penal case against the
Employee; where the Employee is acquitted of the charges attributed to him; or
where the Employee is convicted of a misdemeanour not affecting honour or
trustworthiness and he is punished by a fine or imprisonment with a stay of
execution, the Employee will be reinstated to his post.
2. Where an Employee is convicted by a definitive
judicial decision or judgement of a misdemeanour not affecting honour or
trustworthiness and is sentenced to imprisonment for a period not exceeding
three (3) months, the Employee will be deprived from his salary for the whole
period of imprisonment. This period will not be deemed part of the actual
period of service. Where the period of imprisonment exceeds three (3) months,
the Director General may terminate the Employee's service.
3. Where an Employee is convicted by a definitive
judicial decision or judgement of any felony or misdemeanour affecting honour
or trustworthiness, his service with the Department will be terminated.
An Employee, who is imprisoned for debt, will be deemed
suspended from work for the whole period of imprisonment. This period will not
be deemed part of the Employee’s actual period of service and he will not be
paid any salary or any other employment-related financial entitlements. Where
the Employee is imprisoned for more than three (3) months, the Director General
may terminate his service.
A definitive judicial decision or judgement issued
convicting or acquitting an Employee or dismissing the penal case filed against
him as groundless will not preclude holding such an Employee disciplinarily liable for the Work-related Offence attributed to him,
and imposing the relevant Disciplinary Penalty, in accordance with the
procedures stipulated in this Code.
a. Resignation by an Employee will not preclude
holding him disciplinarily liable, in accordance with this Code, for the
Work-related Offence attributed to him.
b. Where an Employee is referred to the Work-related
Offences Committee or the competent judicial entities, his resignation may be
accepted only after the issuance of the relevant disciplinary decision or
definitive judicial decision or judgement.
a. Where a decision is issued to terminate the
service of an Employee who is suspended from work without pay, his service will
be deemed terminated on the date of suspension from work.
b. Where a decision is issued to terminate the
service of an Employee who is suspended from work with Basic Salary, his
service will be deemed terminated on the date of issuance of the termination
decision.
a.
Except for the
Disciplinary Penalties for non-compliance with Official Working Hours, the
Disciplinary Penalties that may be imposed on Employees under this Code will be
as follows:
1. serving a written notice;
2. serving a written warning;
3. deducting the Aggregate Salary for no more than
fifteen (15) days per each Work-related Offence and no more than sixty (60)
days per Year;
4. withholding promotion of the Employee for a period
not exceeding one (1) Year; and
5. terminating the Employee’s service, in which case,
the Employee may retain his right to full retirement Pension or End-of-service
Gratuity, or may be deprived of up to twenty-five percent (25%) of that Pension
or gratuity.
b. The Disciplinary Penalties prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Article may
be imposed in any order. The Work-related Offences Committee will have the
authority to impose any of the foregoing Disciplinary Penalties in accordance
with this Code.
c. The service of an Employee will be disciplinarily
terminated pursuant to a decision of the Director General issued upon the
recommendation of the Work-related Offences Committee. The committee must
determine in its recommendation whether the Employee will retain his right to
full retirement Pension or End-of-service Gratuity, or will be deprived of up
to twenty-five percent (25%) of either of them.
d. The Work-related Offences Committee must notify
the Employee in writing of any decision imposing a Disciplinary Penalty against
him no later than five (5) working days from the date on which it is issued.
The Human Resources Directorate must be provided with a copy of the decision to
follow up its implementation and inform the Immediate Supervisor thereof.
In determining the Disciplinary Penalty to be imposed on an
Employee, the Work-related Offences Committee must take the following into
consideration:
1. the seriousness and gravity of the committed
Work-related Offence;
2. the extent of damage and financial consequences of
the Work-related Offence;
3. the relevance between the Work-related Offence to
any criminal offence;
4. the behaviour of the Employee throughout the
period of his service with his Department;
5. the number of Work-related Offences committed by
the Employee and the Disciplinary Penalties imposed on him during the preceding
Year;
6. the effect of the Work-related Offence on the
ethics of public service and on the reputation of the Government in general and
of the Department in particular; and
7. the post of the Employee and the importance of his
post to the Government in general and to the Department in particular.
a. In addition to imposing a Disciplinary Penalty pursuant to this Code, where
an Employee fails to report to work without a prior permission or a valid
reason, he will not be entitled to his Aggregate Salary for the days of his
absence without a prior permission or a valid reason. These days will not be
deemed part of the Employee’s actual period of service with the Department.
b. The service of an Employee will be terminated in
case of his absence or failure to report to work for more than fifteen (15)
consecutive working days or twenty-one (21) non-consecutive working days within
a Year without a prior permission or a valid reason.
c. Where the Employee whose service is terminated
under paragraph (b) of this Article provides in writing a reason within one (1)
month from the date of termination of his service, his case must be referred to
the Work-related Offences Committee to verify the veracity and validity of this
reason and to make the appropriate decision in this regard.
d. The Work-related Offences Committee must determine
the validity of the reason given by the Employee pursuant to paragraph (c) of
this Article within fifteen (15) working days from the date of being referred
the case, otherwise the reason will be deemed valid.
e. Where the Work-related Offences Committee decides
to accept the reason given by the Employee for absence from work, he will be
reinstated to his post, but will not be paid any salaries and any other
financial entitlements for the period of absence unless these were covered by
any type of Leave prescribed pursuant to the Law.
f. Where the Employee is absent from work for more
than fifteen (15) consecutive working days, the termination of his service in
accordance with the provisions of this Article will take effect as of the first
day of absence. Where he is absent from work for more than twenty-one (21)
non-consecutive working days, the termination of his service in accordance with
the provisions of this Article will take effect as of the day following the
twenty-first day of absence.
a.
Disciplinary Penalties for Work-related Offences related
to official working hours will be imposed in the following order:
1. serving a written notice;
2. serving a first-time written warning;
3. serving a second-time written warning; and
4. imposing the Disciplinary Penalty determined by
the Work-related Offences Committee under this Code on the Employee referred to
it upon exhausting the Disciplinary Penalties referred to in paragraphs (a)(1),
(a)(2), and (a)(3) hereof.
b.
The Disciplinary
Penalties stipulated in paragraph (a) of this Article will be imposed pursuant
to a resolution of the head of the Human Resources Directorate after the
required investigation is conducted with the Employee by the Immediate
Supervisor, in coordination with the Human Resources Directorate.
a.
A Work-related
Offence will expire in any of the following two cases:
1. the death of the Employee; or
2. the lapse of two (2) years from the date of
committing the Work-related Offence. This limitation period will be interrupted
once an investigation of the offence is initiated or upon referral of the
Employee to the Work-related Offences Committee or to any competent judicial
entity having jurisdiction over any felony resulting from, or relating directly
or indirectly to, that offence. A new limitation period will commence from the
date of the last action taken in respect of the offence.
b.
Where multiple
Employees are under investigation for the same Work-related Offence, any
interruption of the limitation period for any Employee in accordance with the
provisions of paragraph (a)(2) of this Article will be deemed an interruption
of the limitation period for the other Employees even if no other interrupting
action is taken against them.
a.
A Disciplinary Penalty will be removed upon the lapse of:
1. three (3) months in case of a written notice;
2. six (6) months in case of a written warning; and
3. one (1) year for the Disciplinary Penalty
involving deduction from the Aggregate Salary and withholding of promotion.
b. The periods referred to in paragraph (a) of
this Article will be calculated starting from the date of imposing the Disciplinary Penalty. Removal of a
Disciplinary Penalty will render it null and void and all documents related to
the Disciplinary Penalty will be removed from the Employee’s file.
c. Disciplinary Penalties referred to in paragraph
(a) of this Article will not be removed if the Employee commits any
Work-related Offence within the period prescribed for removing the Disciplinary
Penalty. In this case, the new period prescribed for removing the previous
Disciplinary Penalty will be calculated starting from the date on which a new
Disciplinary Penalty is imposed for the new Work-related Offence.
Where a Work-related Offence is deemed as a financial
violation falling within the jurisdiction of the Financial Audit Authority,
such an offence will be subject to the rules, procedures, and provisions
stipulated in the above-mentioned Law No. (4) of 2018.
a. The Immediate Supervisor will regularly provide
advice and mentoring to the Employees within his Organisational Unit in a
manner that reflects positively on their conduct. The Immediate Supervisor must
also address all issues that may give rise to any Grievances or Complaints.
b. An Employee who files a Grievance or Complaint
must be kept free from all harm.
c. A Department must use all possible endeavours to
settle Complaints and Grievances and to keep Employees informed of all relevant
human resources legislation.
a. A committee named the “Grievances and Complaints Committee” will be formed
in each Department pursuant to resolution of its Director General. This
committee will be comprised of a chairman, a vice chairman, and three (3)
members selected from among the Employees of the Department. Members of the
Grievances and Complaints Committee must include specialists in human resources
and legal affairs.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of
this Article, the Grievances and Complaints Committee may include members from
outside of the Department where it has no specialists in human resources and
legal affairs.
c. The vice chairman of the Grievances and Complaints
Committee will exercise the powers of the chairman of the committee where the
chairman is absent or becomes incapable of performing his duties.
d. The grade of a member of the Grievances and
Complaints Committee must not be lower than thirteen (13) or an equivalent
grade and he must not be a member of the Work-related Offences Committee. In
any event, the grade of the chairman of the Grievances and Complaints Committee
must not be lower than the grade of the Employee filing the Grievance or
Complaint.
e. Meetings of the Grievances and Complaints
Committee will be valid if attended by the majority of its members, provided
that the chairman or vice chairman is in attendance.
f. The Grievances and Complaints Committee will have
a rapporteur selected by the Director General. The rapporteur will be
responsible for coordinating the meetings of the committee, preparing its
meeting agendas, recording minutes of its meetings, following up the
implementation of its resolutions and recommendations, and performing any other
duties assigned to him by the chairman of the Grievances and Complaints
Committee.
a. The Grievances and Complaints Committee will
have the jurisdiction to consider and determine the Grievances and Complaints filed by the Employees
of the Department pursuant to this Code.
b. An Employee may file a Grievance against any of
the decisions and measures taken in respect of:
1. Disciplinary Penalties;
2. annual performance appraisal;
3. transfers, assignments, or secondments;
4. promotions in such cases where comparison among
Employees is required to select the most deserving Employee;
5. termination of service or suspension from work.
6. failure by a Department to make any decision
required by the Law; and
7. administrative actions taken in breach of the
provisions of the Law.
c. An Employee may file
Complaints concerning any work-related matter, including but not limited to:
1. work environment and tools;
2. physical abuse or sexual harassment;
3. verbal or written harassment, or derogatory
language;
4. starting or spreading rumours;
5. disparaging against an Employee or his opinions;
6. acts damaging reputation or undermining integrity;
7. all types and forms of discrimination; and
8. workplace marginalisation.
d. The Grievances and Complaints
Committee will not have the jurisdiction to consider Grievances or Complaints
related to working hours, grades, salaries, or bonuses.
a.
For the
purpose of considering and determining Grievances or Complaints filed with it,
the Grievances and Complaints Committee will have the authority to:
1. hear the statements of the parties to the
Grievance or Complaint, consider any supporting documents, admit presented
evidence, and weigh and assess its relevance to the subject matter of the
Grievance or Complaint;
2. conduct inspections or supplementary
investigations, request additional supporting documents, and consider and
review such documents whether by itself or by any other persons it engages for
this purpose;
3. summon any Employee of the Department to attend
its sessions;
4. summon, on its own initiative or upon the request
of the parties to the Grievance or Complaint, any person, as it deems
appropriate, to hear his statement; and
5. seek assistance from the experts and specialists
it deems appropriate, provided that they do not have a vote during its
deliberations.
b.
The Grievances
and Complaints Committee may determine a Grievance or a Complaint based on
examination of the documents and evidence presented to it, where it is
established that such documents and evidence are sufficient to determine that
Grievance or Complaint.
c.
Where it is
established to the Grievance and Complaints Committee, in the course of
considering the Grievance or the Complaint that the subject matter of the same
constitutes a Work-related Offence or criminal offence, the Grievance and
Complaints Committee must refer the matter to the Human Resources Directorate
to take the appropriate action in this respect, in accordance with the rules,
procedures, and regulations stipulated in this Code.
a. An Employee may file a Grievance within fifteen (15) working days from the
date of becoming aware of the contested decision or procedure.
b. An Employee may file a Complaint within fifteen
(15) working days from the date of the incident the subject matter of the
Complaint or of becoming aware thereof.
c. Grievances related to Employee’s performance
appraisal will be submitted in accordance with the provisions of the
above-mentioned Executive Council Resolution No. (39) of 2018.
a. Decisions of the Grievances and Complaints
Committee will be passed unanimously or by majority vote of attending members,
and in the event of a tie, the chair of the meeting will have a casting vote.
b. The decisions of the Grievances and Complaints
Committee must be reasoned.
c. The Grievances and Complaints Committee must
determine any Grievance or Complaint within thirty (30) days from the date of
its submission.
d. Decisions of the Grievances and Complaints
Committee will be recorded in minutes signed by the chair of the meeting and
attending members.
An Employee may withdraw, in writing, any Grievance or
Complaint submitted by him before being determined by the
Grievances and Complaints Committee. In this case, the Employee may not submit
any Grievance or Complaint in respect of the same subject of the withdrawn
Grievance or Complaint without a valid reason acceptable to the Grievances and
Complaints Committee.
All decisions issued by the Grievances and Complaints
Committee on the Grievance or Complaint filed with it will be binding
on the Department. All concerned Organisational Units must, each within its own
jurisdiction, implement such decisions.
a. An Employees may file a Grievance with the Central
Grievances Committee of Employees of the Government of Dubai against any
decision issued by the Grievances and Complaints Committee within fourteen (14)
working days from the date of being notified of the decision of the Grievances
and Complaints Committee, or after the lapse of thirty (30) days from the date
of submitting the Grievance or Complaint that is pending determination.
b. Where no Grievance is filed with the Central
Grievances Committee of Employees of the Government of Dubai within the time
frame referred to in paragraph (a) of this Article, the decision of the
Grievances and Complaints Committee will be considered final.
a.
A chairman
or member of the Work-related Offences Committee and the Grievances and
Complaints Committee will become disqualified for participation in considering
any Work-related Offence, Grievance, or Complaint in any of the following
cases:
1. where the concerned Employee is his spouse or
relative up to the fourth degree;
2. where he is involved in the Work-related Offence,
Grievance, or Complaint; or
3. where he has previously submitted a report, issued
a decision, or gave an opinion on the subject matter of the Work-related
Offence, Grievance, or Complaint.
b. A chairman or member of the Work-related Offences Committee and the
Grievances and Complaints Committee must recuse himself from considering any
Work-related Offence, Grievance, or Complaint in any of the cases stipulated in
paragraph (a) of this Article.
c. Any member of the Work-related Offences Committee
and the Grievances and Complaints Committee may request to be recused from
considering any Work-related Offence, Grievance, or Complaint for special
considerations. In this case, the chairman of the concerned committee will have
the authority to approve or reject such a request.
d. An Employee may request disqualification of the
chairman or a member of the Work-related Offences Committee and the Grievances
and Complaints Committee from considering a Work-related Offence, Grievance, or
Complaint where any of the cases referred to in paragraph (a) of this Article
applies.
e. Where the chairman or member of the Work-related
Offences Committee and the Grievances and Complaints Committee recuses himself
or is disqualified in accordance with the provisions of this Article, the
Director General will issue a resolution nominating a replacement chairman or
member.
a. The Human Resources Directorate will maintain a
record of the Work-related Offences, Grievances, and Complaints for the purpose
of considering the causes of these offences, Grievances, and Complaints and
develop the appropriate solutions required to prevent their recurrence.
b. Both the Work-related Offences Committee and the
Grievances and Complaints Committee must provide the Human Resources
Directorate with the decisions they issue.
The chairmen and members of the Work-related Offences
Committee and the Grievances and Complaints Committee
must maintain the confidentiality of the sessions, deliberations, minutes of
meetings, and information to which they have access in their capacity as
members of either committees, and must not disclose or obtain a copy of the
same in any way without the approval of the Director General.
The Government of Dubai Human Resources Department will
undertake the training of the members of the Work-related Offences Committee
and the Grievances and Complaints Committee to enable them to efficiently and
effectively perform their duties under this Code.
©2019 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.