Work Injury Compensation

Work injury compensation is the UAE Labour Law regime covering employees injured at work, injured commuting to or from work, or afflicted by a scheduled occupational disease. The employer must fund medical treatment until recovery or stabilisation, pay wages during treatment under a tiered structure, and — for death or permanent disability — pay compensation determined under the statutory framework, with disability percentages assessed by medical committees. Compensation can be lost where the injury was self-inflicted, caused by intoxication, or resulted from deliberate violation of safety instructions, and these exceptions are the usual battleground. Claims sit alongside, not instead of, possible civil claims for employer negligence and mandatory insurance arrangements. In practice this regime appears in construction and industrial accidents, in disputes over whether an incident counts as work-related, and in negotiations where employers offer quick settlements below the statutory entitlement.