The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation launched a campaign on its official website and its electronic platforms for social networking to promote the "telecommuting" system, in order to attract young Emiratis to work in private sector establishments and institutions. Its employees have the "smart office" mechanism.
The ministry defined "work from afar" as a system of work in which the worker performs his duties from different locations from the employer's premises (ie, the worker performs work outside of the sites assigned to work), either partially (weekly or monthly) or completely.
She explained that the system aims to create jobs close to the homes of unemployed citizens living in remote areas, and encourages employers to provide employment opportunities for partially unemployed or not fully exploited in remote areas, thus providing the cost of travel between remote areas and cities , As well as the cost of attracting citizens.
The "teleworking" system is divided into two types: the first is "partial", where the employee can divide his or her working time between the main workplace and the workplace remotely by equal or different percentages, which may be days of the week or weeks of the month or months of the year , While the second type is "full" and is intended for functions that can be performed entirely from outside the office.
The ministry pointed out that the system of remote work or the so-called «smart office», achieving about 14 benefits, five of which return to the employee and the same to the employer, in addition to four benefits to the community.
The system helps the employee to improve work and increase job satisfaction, improve work-life balance, increase employee comfort, provide more family and child care opportunities, and save money on transportation. The employer benefits from the system by increasing satisfaction rates among its employees, reducing unplanned absenteeism, increasing productivity and money, expanding the talent pool, and ensuring continuity of operations, while the community benefits from the system through its ability to provide new job opportunities for the unemployed. Or in part, to increase employment options for stakeholders, to improve the economic future in remote areas, and to strengthen family relations by improving the balance between work and family life.
According to the Ministry, the smart system gives employees a number of rights, as they meet the conditions and benefits applicable to full-time employees, the right to privacy, the employee is eligible for promotion or benefits, and the same workload, Full time in the workplace.
"A remote employee must comply with security requirements, deal with any challenges or difficulties resulting from system arrangements, and have more than one means of communication that is easily accessible by colleagues or employers during working hours," she said.
The ministry stressed that the employers should ensure equal treatment of their employees and their full-time colleagues in the workplace, as well as ensure that workers working in the remote system have access to the necessary tools to complete what is required of them, Meetings and discussions from afar.
The Minister of Human Resources and Emiratization, Nasser Bin Thani Al-Hamli, opened last March, the first state-level telemedicine center in Khor Fakkan's Customer Center, in implementation of a memorandum of understanding signed with Emirates NBD. 10 citizens working to complete the transactions of the bank's clients electronically, through the center, which was prepared by the ministry in full. In the same month, the Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the IDL Group of Companies to provide 400 job opportunities for citizens and nationals to work for the Group under the "telecommuting" system. Citizens and citizens began to perform their duties in accordance with this system in stages , Through the Center «work from afar», which was prepared by the ministry in the center of its dealers in Ras Al Khaimah.
«Work after» a system of work in which the worker perform his duties from different locations outside the employer's premises.
Specific working hours
With regard to the rights and obligations of employers, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation indicated that the "telework" system gives the employer the right to require specific hours of work committed by the employee outside the workplace. It also gives him the right to cancel the system if the employee is in violation of the laws, stressing the need for institutions and employers to appoint professional groups, which are entitled to apply for a remote system of work, and determine whether the advertised vacancies can be operated according to this system or not .