Can a UAE employment contract still be open-ended?

No. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 the contract is concluded for a term and may be extended or renewed by agreement for a similar or shorter term, once or more. Article 8(4) treats each new term as an extension of the original one for the purpose of calculating continuous service, and Article 8(5) treats continued performance after expiry without an express agreement as an implicit extension on the same conditions.

Does the federal UAE Labour Law govern employment in the DIFC?

The DIFC applies its own Employment Law, DIFC Law No. 2 of 2019. Article 4 of that law covers any person with a place of business in the DIFC who employs one or more individuals, and any individual employed by such a person who is based in, ordinarily works in or from the DIFC, or has agreed in the employment contract to be subject to that law. The drafting points are different: DIFC Article 14 requires an English-language written contract within seven days with fourteen specified particulars.

How long can a probation period be in the UAE?

Article 9(1) of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 caps probation at six months from the date work commences, and Article 9(2) prevents a worker being placed on probation more than once with the same employer. In the DIFC, Article 14(2)(l) of DIFC Law No. 2 of 2019 also caps probation at six months, except where the employee is on a fixed term of six months or less, in which case probation may not exceed half the fixed term.

Employment Contract in the UAE

Onshore private-sector hiring in the UAE runs on a form, not a blank page. Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 requires an employment contract in the agreed work pattern, executed in two copies, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation requires that contract to be the approved standard contract matching the job offer filed for the work permit. The DIFC is a separate system with its own Employment Law, which gives the employer seven days to hand the employee a written contract in English containing fourteen listed particulars.

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Governing law

Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relationships governs private-sector employment. Article 3 applies it to all establishments, employers and workers in the UAE private sector and excludes employees of federal and local government entities, the armed forces, police and security, and domestic workers.

Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relationships, Art. 3 (official English text, UAE Government Portal)

What a employment contract has to contain in the UAE

The employer must conclude an employment contract with the worker according to the agreed work pattern. The contract is made in two copies, one kept by the employer and one handed to the worker, in the form specified by the Implementing Regulation.
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 8(1) [2021 text as published; the available official English consolidation does not reflect Federal Decree-Law 20/2023]
No one may work in the UAE and no employer may recruit or employ a worker without a work permit from the Ministry, and the employer is prohibited from charging the worker recruitment or employment costs, whether directly or indirectly.
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 6(1) and 6(4) [2021 text as published; the available official English consolidation does not reflect Federal Decree-Law 20/2023]
A probationary period may not exceed six months from the date work starts, a worker may not be placed on probation more than once with the same employer, and the employer terminating during probation must give at least fourteen days' written notice.
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 9(1) and 9(2)
A full-time foreign worker who completes one year or more of continuous service is entitled to end of service benefits calculated on basic wage at twenty-one days for each of the first five years and thirty days for each year after that, and the total may not exceed two years' wage.
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 51(2) and 51(6) [2021 text as published; the available official English consolidation does not reflect Federal Decree-Law 20/2023]
In the DIFC the employer must provide a written employment contract in the English language within seven days of the start of employment, setting out the fourteen matters in Article 14(2), including any probation period, which is capped at six months.
DIFC Employment Law, DIFC Law No. 2 of 2019 (Consolidated Version No. 5, July 2025), Art. 14

Form, notarisation and registration

The contract must be on the standard employment offer and contract approved by MOHRE and published on its website, and it must conform to the job offer used when the work permit was requested. Extra benefits and annexes may be added provided they do not conflict with the Decree-Law and its Executive Regulation.
Ministerial Decree No. 46 of 2022 Regarding Work Permits, Job Offers and Employment Contracts' Forms, Arts. 1 and 2(1)
The employer must keep a digital or hard copy of both the job offer and the employment contract for at least two years from the expiry or termination of the employment relationship.
Ministerial Decree No. 46 of 2022, Art. 2(2)

What catches drafters out

Where both parties keep performing after the original term expires without an express agreement, the contract is treated as implicitly extended on the same conditions, and every extension or renewal is added to the original term when continuous service is calculated.
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Art. 8(4) and 8(5) [2021 text as published; the available official English consolidation does not reflect Federal Decree-Law 20/2023]
The permitted work patterns are named in the statute as full time, part time, temporary and flexible, with further patterns set by the Implementing Regulation. The UAE Government Portal lists remote work and job sharing among the recognised models, so a bespoke arrangement still has to map onto a defined pattern.
Employment contracts: duration and models in the private sector, UAE Government Portal