A ministry of labour (MoL) and Dubai Police taskforce has uncovered a number of companies in Dubai are violating sponsorship regulations during inspections on Ramadan working hours.
A team of 38 inspectors from the MoL and Dubai Police’s General Directorate of Residence and Foreigners Affairs Dubai inspected 91 firms last week to “ensure their compliance” with six-hour working day introduced during the month of Ramadan. The Labour Inspection Department have issued a statement revealing that ten firms now face fines of AED50,000 each “for breaching the federal labour law for recruiting violators”.
Isa Al Zarouni, director of Labour Inspection Department in Dubai, said inspections were conducted in line with rules that state: “The maximum normal working hours for adult employees shall be eight hours per day or forty eight hours per week. However, during the month of Ramadan, normal working hours shall be reduced by two hours”. 
However the ten companies were found to be employing a total of 12 workers that were sponsored by other firms and two that had entered the country with only a visit visa.
“Penalties include suspension of the firm’s file and a fine of AED 50,000 on every firm found hiring a foreigner not on its sponsorship, or leaving him work for other firm without meeting stipulations of transfer of sponsorship,” said Al Zarouni.
