UAE HSE Legislation Matt Jackson
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HSE LEGISLATION AT FEDERAL LEVEL
Federal Law No.8 of 1980 – UAE Labour Law
Penal Code – Federal Law No.3 of 1987
Employers and employees can be held responsible for health and safety breaches
Contains financial and detainment penalties
Power is delegated to individual Emirates from Federal Level for the development and implementation of local laws related to health and safety
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HSE LEGISLATION IN DUBAI
Local Order 61 of 1991 and Admin Order 211 of 1991
Dubai Municipality Code of Construction Safety Practice
Specific to environmental protection, but contains provisions on health and safety of employees, including the reporting of incidents and accidents and the obligation of employers for the reporting of those incidents and accidents
Specifies the responsibilities and working conditions for workers for health and safety on site
Dubai Municipality Technical Guidelines A
new range of Technical Guidelines were issued in 2011/12, e.g. “Rope Access, Emergency Preparedness and Electrical Safety at Work”
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HSE LEGISLATION IN DUBAI
TECOM Regulations
Employment Regulations 2004 establish a safety and injury prevention programme
HSE Regulations allow TECOM to set higher standards than those adopted at Federal and local level
JAFZA Health and Safety Manual Applies
to entities operating within JAFZA and includes a chapter on Health, Safety, Environment and Fire
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HSE LEGISLATION IN ABU DHABI
Largely follows the Federal regime
AD Executive Council Decree 42 of 2009 Concerning The Environmental, Health and Safety management System in the Abu Dhabi Emirate
Unified tool specific to the implementation of the AD EHSMS RF
Stipulates the responsibilities of the Competent Authority (OSHAD)
Stipulates the responsibilities of Sector Regulatory Authorities (SRA’S) e.g. The Centre of Waste Management, Industrial Development Bureau and The Health Authority Abu Dhabi)
Stipulates the responsibilities of entities for the implementation of the AD EHSMS RF
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HSE LEGISLATION IN ABU DHABI
Structure revised in 2012
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SELF REGULATING BODIES IN THE UAE
Have the power delegated to them by local governments to self regulate to achieve their objectives in a given industry
Examples of self-regulating bodies:
Dubai Aviation and Engineering Projects (DAEP)
Abu
Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)
Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (DEWA)
Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC)
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LIABILITY
Criminal sanctions
Fixed compensation
Civil compensatory damages
Contractual liability
Administrative sanctions
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CRIMINAL SANCTIONS
Penal Code
Contains financial and detainment penalties
Labour Law and Ministerial Decisions Any
breach of health and safety obligations is punishable by fine of up to Dh10,000 and/or imprisonment for up to six months
Fines can be levied against the Organisation, however it is the Organisations Officers who could face imprisonment
Previous cases suggest that imprisonment is usually only imposed where gross negligence has occurred
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LIABILITY
Fixed Compensation
Diya (blood money) – compensation for a human life – Dh200,000
Arsh – compensation
for the loss of an organ, a body part or their functions – sliding scales
- Determined by a medical investigation team - Percentage is calculated as a share of the Dh200,000 (Diya) - Some instances i.e. loss of both legs pay full diya amount
Civil compensatory damages
Emotional damages – No set payment schedule – claimed separately
Loss of future earnings - When a court calculates loss of earnings, a person’s salary would be calculated based on the retirement age.
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EMOTIONAL DAMAGES EXAMPLE “A woman had an accident and because of the accident, her private parts were revealed,” said Mr Al Othali. “She can claim compensation for emotional damages – the shame and embarrassment that she felt because of the accident.” Source – The Nation al - UAE’s compensation system is more r e as o n a b l e t h a n t h o s e i n t h e W es t , s a y s e x p e r t
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LOSS OF FUTURE EARNINGS EXAMPLE “If a person has an accident that made him lose both his arms, he will get the Dh200,000 arsh money,” he said. “But he will need someone to feed him, change him and take care of him. So he will need to hire someone to help him. “He might lose his job and be unable to work again. He might also have young children who are dependent on him. How will society look at him after the accident? So his situation is more complicated, which is why he should ask for and receive higher compensation.” “Let’s say he had the accident when he was 35 years old,” he said. “When the court calculates his loss of earnings the court will estimate his earnings until his retirement age, which is around 60 to 65.
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LOSS OF FUTURE EARNINGS EXAMPLE “For compensation that can’t be estimated – such as the way society looks at him after the injury or the pain that the injury caused – the court estimates [the compensation amount] as it sees fit. Here, the lawyer has to make the judge aware of the pain of his client. He might get up to Dh800,000.” S o u r c e – The Nation al - UAE’s compensation system is more r e as o n a b l e t h a n t h o s e i n t h e W es t , s a y s e x p e r t
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