Permit to Work in the UAE: Rules and Employer Duties

Permit to Work in the UAE: Rules and Employer Duties

If you're planning any high-risk task on a UAE site — hot work, confined space entry, working at height, energised electrical — you'll need a permit to work before anyone lifts a tool. Here's what the rules actually require, who signs, and where employers get caught out.

Quick answer

A permit to work (PTW) is a written authorisation issued by a competent person before hazardous non-routine work starts. In the UAE, it's driven by Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on Labour Relations and Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022 on occupational safety, plus emirate-level codes (Dubai Municipality's Code of Construction Safety Practice, Abu Dhabi's OSHAD Code of Practice CoP 26.0 on PTW systems). Typical high-risk activities requiring a PTW: hot work, confined space, work at height above 1.8m, excavation, electrical isolation, lifting operations, and work on live systems. The permit names the task, hazards, controls, duration, and the people responsible.

When a permit to work is legally required

Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Article 13, obliges every employer to provide a safe workplace and protect workers from occupational hazards. ^[1] Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022 spells out the operational duties — hazard assessment, control measures, and documented safe systems of work. ^[2]

At emirate level, the rules get specific. Abu Dhabi's OSHAD (Occupational Safety and Health Abu Dhabi) Code of Practice 26.0 sets out a full PTW framework: permit categories, competency of issuers, cross-permits, and audit requirements. ^[3] Dubai Municipality's Code of Construction Safety Practice requires PTW for confined space, hot work, excavation over 1.2m, work at height, and energised electrical work. ^[4]

Honestly, if you're on any medium-to-large construction, oil and gas, industrial, or facilities-management site in the UAE, a PTW system isn't optional — it's how the HSE (health, safety, environment) file gets built and how the main contractor keeps their license.

What goes in a valid permit

A UAE-compliant permit to work isn't a form you download and tick. It's a controlled document with named roles.

At minimum, the permit needs the exact location and description of the task, the hazards identified through a job safety analysis, the control measures (isolations, barriers, PPE, gas testing results for confined space or hot work), the validity window (usually one shift, max 12 hours), the names and signatures of the permit issuer and permit receiver, and the sign-off at close-out. Cross-references to other active permits on the same asset matter — this is where people slip up, especially with simultaneous operations.

Gas testing for hot work and confined space must be done by a trained gas tester with a calibrated meter, and results recorded on the permit itself. OSHAD CoP 26.0 requires re-testing at defined intervals, not just once at the start. ^[3]

Watch out: A permit signed by someone without documented competency is worthless in an incident investigation. Both OSHAD and Dubai Municipality expect training records for every permit issuer and receiver on file.

Who signs, and who's liable

The permit issuer is a competent person appointed in writing by the employer — usually a site engineer, HSE officer, or shift supervisor with documented PTW training. The permit receiver is the person supervising the work crew and accepting the controls.

Liability sits with the employer under Article 13 of the Labour Law. If a worker is injured because a permit wasn't raised, or was raised without proper isolation, the employer faces administrative penalties under Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022 and potential criminal exposure under Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021 (Penal Code) if negligence caused injury or death. ^[2][5]

Fines for OSH breaches on Abu Dhabi sites can run from AED 5,000 to AED 50,000 per violation under the OSHAD enforcement framework, and repeat breaches can trigger site stop-work orders. ^[3] Dubai Municipality can suspend contractor registration.

For more on employer safety obligations, see our category page on civil law.

Common mistakes that void a permit

A few patterns come up again and again:

Copy-paste permits — same hazards, same controls, different date. Auditors spot this instantly. Every permit should reflect the actual task on the actual day.

Expired gas readings used to justify hot work hours later. Re-test.

No isolation certificate cross-referenced when the PTW involves energised systems. Electrical work needs a separate lockout-tagout record attached.

Permit closed without a physical walk-down of the worksite. The issuer is meant to confirm the area is clean, tools removed, and the system returned to a safe state before signing off.

And the classic: work continues past the permit's expiry because "we're nearly done." Once the time runs out, tools down. A new permit or a documented extension by the issuer is required.

Practical steps for employers

Build a PTW procedure aligned with OSHAD CoP 26.0 or the Dubai Municipality code, whichever emirate you operate in. Train and certify issuers and receivers — most reputable providers run 2-day courses. Keep a permit register. Audit closed permits monthly. And make sure your job safety analysis library is actually being used, not sitting in a folder no one opens.

If a serious incident happens and the PTW paperwork doesn't hold up, expect the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) inspector, the emirate authority, and possibly the public prosecutor to walk through every signature line.

Need this checked for your situation? Talk to a UAE-licensed lawyer →

Citations

^[1] Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations, Article 13 — https://uaelegislation.gov.ae ^[2] Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022 on Occupational Safety and Health — MOHRE, https://www.mohre.gov.ae ^[3] OSHAD Code of Practice CoP 26.0 — Permit to Work Systems, Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre — https://adphc.gov.ae ^[4] Dubai Municipality Code of Construction Safety Practice — https://www.dm.gov.ae ^[5] Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021 (UAE Penal Code) — https://uaelegislation.gov.ae