Recruitment and HR offices, workplaces and social media in the UAE are humming with dialogues about ‘demographic diversity’ as some companies were unable to acquire work visas for new employees.
If you are a company looking to make some new hiring decisions, it is important to consider demographic diversity of your work force. If any company has a quota for work permits, they have to ensure that the first 20 per cent of the available quota in the establishments is allocated to different nationalities.
According to UAE-based companies and public relations officers (PROs) who are applying for new work permits, some online applications to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MOHRE) are receiving an alert from the system, urging them to hire workers from different nationalities.
The alert or pop-up notification received when submitting an application for the work permit, reads as follows:
“Together to enhance our unique and successful experience in cultural and demographic diversity. Be part of this success and be keen on its continuity by implementing the principle of diversity when applying for the first permit, out of every five work permits within the quota designated for your firm.”
Sirajudeen Ummer, public relations manager at Galaxy Digital Business Services Dubai, said that based on his company’s experience in applying for work permits more recently, establishments that do not have a mix of nationalities in their workforce may see this message pop up in the system. In such cases, the companies are required to look for suitable candidates that are from a different nationality.
“If any company has a quota for work permits, they have to ensure that the first 20 per cent of the available quota in the establishments is allocated to different nationalities,” he said.
Adnan Khan, operations manager at Siddique Haider Corporate Services Provider, said that this procedure is linked to the demographic diversity of the establishments and is not associated with a specific nationality. He said that the company classification , as per MOHRE in 2022 also moves establishments from Category 2 to Category 3, which is a lower category, if they are not focused on cultural diversity.
“If establishment have any one nationality that is a big part of the total workforce, the establishment moves from Category 2 to Category 3. This also affects the company, as their work permit costs also increase. The work permit costs are different for Category 2 and Category 3. This is why this will also benefit companies – they will have different nationalities in the work force, and also have lower work permit costs,” he said.
