Labour Law · Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021
Article 10
English translation
Non-Competition Condition
1. If the work assigned to the Worker allows him to know the Employer's clients or access his work secrets, the Employer may stipulate in the work contract that the Worker shall not, after the termination of the contract, compete with him or participate in any competing project in the same industry; provided that such condition is specific in terms of time, place and kind of work to the extent necessary to protect the legitimate business interests, and that the period of non-competition shall not exceed two years as of the expiry date of the contract.
2. Said condition shall be null if the employer terminates the employment contract in violation of the provisions of this Decree by law.
3. The lawsuit filed by the Employer for the Worker's violation of the provisions of this Article shall not be heard after the lapse of one year from the date of discovering the violation.
4. The Executive Regulation of this Decree by law shall determine the provisions regulating this Article, and the skill levels or occupational professions that may be excluded from the provision of Clause (1) of this Article, in accordance with the conditions and controls specified by the Regulation.
Official translation, as published by the portal.
Official Arabic text
شرط عدم المنافسة
.1 إذا كان العمل المنوط بالعامل يسمح له بمعرفة عملاء صاحب العمل أو بالاطلاع على أسرار عمله، جاز لصاحب العمل أن يشترط على العامل في عقد العمل، ألا يقوم بعد انتهاء العقد بمنافسته أو بالاشتراك في أي مشروع منافس له في القطاع ذاته، على أن يكون الشرط محددًا من حيث الزمان والمكان ونوع العمل على القدر الضروري لحماية مصالح العمل المشروعة، وألا تزيد مدة عدم المنافسة على سنتين من تاريخ انتهاء العقد.
.2 يبطل هذا الشرط إذا أنهى صاحب العمل عقد العمل بالمخالفة لأحكام هذا المرسوم بقانون.
.3 لا تسمع الدعوى المرفوعة من صاحب العمل لمخالفة العامل أحكام هذه المادة بعد مضي سنة من تاريخ اكتشافه المخالفة.
.4 تحدد اللائحة التنفيذية لهذا المرسوم بقانون، الأحكام المنظمة لهذه المادة، والمستويات المهارية أو المهن الوظيفية التي يجوز استثنائها من حكم البند (1) من هذه المادة، وذلك وفقًا للشروط والضوابط التي تحددها اللائحة.
What it means when you sign
This article lets an employer put a non-competition condition in a work contract. It applies where the worker's job allows the worker to know the employer's clients or reach its work secrets. The condition may stop the worker, after the contract ends, from competing with the employer or joining a competing project in the same industry. It must be specific as to time, place and kind of work, limited to what is needed to protect legitimate business interests, and the non-competition period cannot exceed two years from the end of the contract.
The condition is void if the employer ended the employment contract in breach of this law. An employer's lawsuit over the worker's violation is not heard once one year has passed from the date the employer discovered the violation. The executive regulation sets further rules and may exclude certain skill levels or occupations from the first clause.
When you are about to sign, a non-compete clause may run into this article if it has no time limit, covers an unspecified area, bars work far beyond what protects the employer, or runs longer than two years. Check the clause for each of those points.
Not yet cited in a Fahm report; shown because it sits in the same chapter as one that is.
Related articles
- Article 1Cited in Fahm reportsThis is a definitions article.
- Article 2This article sets out the aims of the employment law rather than rules for any one situation.
- Article 43This article governs ending an employment contract by notice.
- Article 54This article sets the route for individual labor disputes between an employer and a worker, or anyone entitled through either of them.
- Article 65Cited in Fahm reportsThis article gathers final provisions that protect the worker.