The General Secretariat of the Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai (SLC) has recently conducted a virtual workshop titled the ‘Legality of Disciplinary Penalties’ to enrich legal and legislative knowledge and awareness. Sixty-two legal officers from local government entities took part in the workshop which focused on the legality of imposing disciplinary penalties on violating public servants.
The workshop was led by Dr. Yahia Abdulla Al Adwan, Legal Advisor at the SLC Technical Office. Dr. Al Adwan stated that disciplinary actions were put in place to correct the misconduct of government employees; prevent violations to applicable regulations governing public service; protect the public service work system; and ensure organised and seamless workflow.
The workshop highlighted the importance of disciplinary liability of public servants as a means of ensuring integrity in, and respect for, public service through establishing accountability. It was explained in the workshop that the disciplinary penalties must be imposed on employees who fail to perform their employment duties and responsibilities in accordance with the applicable laws to ensure that the corrective results are achieved, while and prevent arbitrary decisions or abuse of disciplinary powers by senior management against employees.
The awareness workshop constituted an important platform to review all legal aspects of imposing disciplinary penalties. Dr. Al Adwan elaborated on the definition of disciplinary penalty, explaining that it is a specific punitive action imposed on a government employee who commits a work-related offence, which negatively affects his employment position, resulting in depriving him of some or all of his employment benefits.
Moreover, the workshop highlighted the characteristics and legal nature of disciplinary penalty, and the basis for vesting management with the authority to impose it on violating employees. The discussion also focused on the types of disciplinary penalties and the disciplinary authority competent to impose these penalties, explaining the principles governing the powers of the disciplinary authority in respect of imposing a disciplinary penalty and the guarantees that are established for the public employee referred to the disciplinary authority prior to, during, or after imposing the disciplinary penalty. The attendees were provided with a detailed overview of the requirements for validity of administrative decision imposing disciplinary penalties in terms of the grounds for imposing the disciplinary penalty, its form, subject matter, the authority in charge of imposing it, and the objective that the management must aim to achieve by imposing it.
“The workshop’s large turnout was a testament to the Dubai Government’s confidence in the SLC as the leading government entity tasked with enriching legal knowledge in the Emirate of Dubai and ensure the optimal implementation of the legislation in force, contributing to the UAE wise leadership vision of creating a transparent, reliable, and proactive government” said H.E. Ahmad Saeed bin Meshar Al Muhairi, SLC Secretary General.
Al Muhairi added: “Disciplinary actions in public service is an effective tool to ensure that employees properly perform their employment duties and promote the values of commitment, dedication, and excellence in government service. Holding this workshop is part of the SLC’s continuous efforts to increase the legislative awareness of government employees and provide them with legal knowledge to improve their performance and adopt public service best practices. This is in line with the vision and wise directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to invest in human capital being the cornerstone of development.”
Furthermore, the workshop provided valuable insights into the legal provisions governing taking of disciplinary actions against the Dubai Government employees who commit disciplinary offenses, foremost of which was Executive Council Resolution No. (4) of 2019 Approving the Disciplinary Penalties, Grievances, and Complaints Code of Employees of the Government of Dubai. The workshop also highlighted some of the rulings issued by the Federal Supreme Court with respect to disciplinary actions taken against violating employees.