Every job asks for experience as a prerequisite, and having a record of previous employment can help workers secure better opportunities as they move from one job to another. An experience certificate can play an important role in this process by documenting the worker’s employment history, position, and period of service. Recognising its importance, UAE labour law expressly requires employers to provide an experience certificate upon the worker’s request when the employment contract expires.

LEGAL PROVISION UNDER ARTICLE 13(11) OF FEDERAL DECREE-LAW NO. 33 OF 2021 CONCERNING REGULATING LABOUR RELATIONS

Article 13(11) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 Concerning Regulating Labour Relations places an obligation on employers to issue an experience certificate free of charge upon the worker’s request and upon expiry of the employment contract. The issuance of an experience certificate is therefore a statutory obligation rather than a matter left entirely to the employer’s discretion.

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE EXPERIENCE CERTIFICATE

Under Article 13(11), the experience certificate must contain the following particulars:

  1. Date of joining: The date on which the worker commenced employment.
  2. Date of termination: The date on which the worker’s employment ended.
  3. Total period of service: The complete duration of the worker’s service with the employer.
  4. Job title or nature of work: The position held by the worker or the type of work performed.
  5. Last wage received: The worker’s last wage during the employment relationship.
  6. Reason for termination: The reason for the end of the employment contract.

These particulars provide a record of the worker’s employment history and may assist prospective employers in assessing their professional experience and suitability for future positions.

THE CERTIFICATE MUST BE ISSUED FREE OF CHARGE

The law mandates that the experience certificate be issued free of charge. Accordingly, the employer cannot make payment for the certificate a condition for issuing it. This provision ensures that workers can obtain documentation of their employment history without incurring an additional financial burden at the end of their employment.

PROTECTION OF THE WORKER’S REPUTATION AND FUTURE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Employment is essential to a worker’s livelihood. To protect workers’ interests, the law places a restriction on the content of the experience certificate, providing that it must not contain anything that might harm the worker’s reputation or reduce their employment opportunities.

This requirement limits the information that may be included in the certificate. Its purpose is to ensure that the document serves as a record of the worker’s employment rather than becoming a means of unfairly affecting their professional reputation or prospects of securing future employment.

Employers must therefore ensure that the certificate complies with the statutory requirements and does not contain material that could prejudice the worker’s future career opportunities.

CONCLUSION

Article 13(11) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 establishes an important obligation for employers in the UAE upon the expiry of an employment contract. By requiring an experience certificate to be issued free of charge upon the worker’s request, prescribing the information it must contain, and protecting the worker against harmful content, the provision supports transparency in employment records and facilitates the worker’s transition to future employment.

We at Ayesha Aldhaheri Advocates & Legal Consultants, we assist employees in understanding, protecting, and enforcing their legal rights under UAE Labour Law.