Legal impacts of COVID-19 on business, employment discussed

Inayat-ur-Rahman

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, co-organised a webinar with Clyde& Co on “The Legal Impact of COVID -19 on employment in the UAE”, which was attended by 278 participants from various sectors of the business community.

The webinar aimed at helping employers and employees deal with the impact of COVID-19 on their business. It focused on the nature of this working relationship, provided guidance to the concerned parties and updated them on the latest policy developments governing the relationship between employers and employees.

It also shed light on the current ministerial guidelines in relation to the workplace and their impact on the employees. Topics such as practical issues to be considered when the employees start working remotely, how to apply and approve paid and unpaid leave, and legal procedures for reducing salaries and wages were also covered.

The session was moderated by Rebecca Ford, Partner- Employment, Clyde & Co., and Samantha Ellaby, Senior Associate- Employment, Clyde & Co. The webinar was attended by members of Dubai Chamber, legal professionals, business owners, human resource managers and contract experts, as well as members of business groups and councils, and economic and professional bodies.

Jehad Kazim, Director, Legal Services, Dubai Chamber, stressed on the importance of organizing the relationship between employers and workers, especially in uncertain times, like we are facing now, noting that the contractual relationship between the parties should be clearly understood by everyone.

Kazim pointed out that the introductory webinar covers an important topic in the labor market today.  It particularly answers the inquiries of the private sector about the contractual relationship and how to align them with current developments in a transparent manner that guarantees the rights and duties of all parties. The webinar is consistent with the Chamber’s commitment to enhance the awareness of the business community in all topics which impact on their business and activities, Kazim remarked.

Rebecca Ford, during her presentation, covered the latest policy developments and advised the participants on topics such as how to manage remote working and to implement emergency measures during such uncertain times. “Webinar, such as these, are a platform for various stakeholders to come together and discuss the impact and solutions that situations like these require. We hope we were able to answer the concerns of the businesses in relation to the best way to proceed forward and the various issues they need to keep in mind while dealing with a fundamentally changed employee-employer relationship,” Ford remarked.

Dubai Chamber regularly organizes workshops that are of interest to the business sector in the emirate, and that contribute to enhancing their awareness of the latest legal and policy developments that regulate the business environment and contribute to making it dynamic.

Meanwhile, the renowned global real estate event will take place on November 15,  2020 at Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE, and is committed to supporting the GCC in re-establishing a ‘back to business’ approach, delivering a focused event that creates a hub for the real estate sector to network, discuss some of the most poignant topics, delve into market recovery and discover new real estate opportunities.  Broadening its horizons beyond residential, Cityscape will spotlight the rapidly growing sectors of industrial and logistics, commercial: retail & office, proptech and architecture.  In an increasingly mature residential market, this gives the industry growing opportunities across these high-growth asset classes, fundamental to continuing progress in the real estate economy across the GCC.

Reaching out to new partners and associations across these commercial and industrial sectors, alongside working closely with its exhibitor community to develop a new floor plan to showcase these projects, Cityscape’s participants can expect a new era of real estate to develop at this year’s Cityscape 2020.

Alongside these show floor developments, Cityscape 2020 also sees the launch of the high-level Real Estate Summit, for top tier investors, government, consultants and developers. Supported by an important Investor, Government & Corporate End User Hosted Buyer Programme, Dubai will play host to this gateway for real estate networking in the MENA region.

Cityscape will be working with the entire real estate community over the coming months to support them through these challenging times.

In 2021 Cityscape will run alongside the world Expo. Dates to be confirmed.

Cityscape, owned by Informa Markets, first took place in 2002 in Dubai and has since grown to be one of the largest real estate event brands globally. With the success of Cityscape in Dubai, the brand has constructed a portfolio of events across a spectrum of bullish markets, in countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

 Established in 1965, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry is a non-profit public entity, whose mission is to represent, support and protect the interests of the business community in Dubai by creating a favourable business environment, supporting the development of business, and by promoting Dubai as an international business hub.