Employment contracts (UAE)
Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating UAE employment contracts for tech and gaming companies — covering IP assignment, non-competes, executive terms, and free zone compliance.
What our clients face
First-time UAE hiring
You are hiring in the UAE for the first time and need employment contracts that actually hold up — not a template pulled from the internet. This matters most when your hires will have access to source code, game builds, user data, or proprietary business logic.
Tech startups and gaming studios
Tech startups setting up their first Dubai entity, gaming studios onboarding developers or artists (whether on-site or remote), and companies relocating key staff from other jurisdictions all face the same problem: UAE Labour Law has specific mandatory provisions, and getting them wrong means unenforceable clauses, surprise liabilities at termination, or failed MOHRE registration.
Executive compensation and restrictive covenants
If you are structuring executive compensation, figuring out how non-competes work under UAE law, or trying to ensure your IP assignment clauses will survive scrutiny, you need contracts built for this jurisdiction and your industry.
Our approach
Employment contracts tailored to tech and gaming
We draft, review, and negotiate employment agreements tailored to tech and gaming companies operating in the UAE. Every contract is built against the current UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021) and its implementing regulations.
Standard employment contracts
Contracts for developers, designers, QA, and operational staff — compliant with MOHRE requirements, structured as fixed-term contracts (up to three years, renewable) with duration tailored to each role.
Executive and C-level agreements
Bespoke compensation structures, performance-based incentives, equity references, and enhanced termination provisions.
IP assignment and work-for-hire clauses
Structuring IP assignment provisions to maximize employer ownership across copyright, patents, and other IP categories, covering code, game assets, content, and inventions.
Confidentiality and non-disclosure provisions
Drafted to be enforceable under UAE law, covering trade secrets, client data, and proprietary technology.
Non-compete and non-solicitation clauses
Scoped to meet the enforceability requirements under Article 10 of the Labour Law — specific duration, geography, and activity restrictions.
End-of-service gratuity structuring
Calculating obligations under the law and, where applicable, structuring DEWS or alternative savings schemes in DIFC/ADGM.
Probation, notice periods, and termination mechanics
Aligned with statutory requirements and tailored to your operational needs.
MOHRE and free zone compliance review
Ensuring contracts meet the registration requirements of the relevant authority — mainland, DMCC, DAFZA, DTEC, or others.
Stages of work
Scoping call
We review your hiring plan, the roles you are filling, and any existing templates or group policies. We identify which jurisdiction applies (mainland, free zone, or DIFC/ADGM) and flag any cross-border considerations.
Contract drafting
We prepare employment agreements from scratch or restructure your existing templates. Each contract includes all mandatory UAE Labour Law provisions plus the IP, confidentiality, and restrictive covenant clauses specific to your business.
Internal review round
You review the drafts with your team. We walk through key provisions, explain what is mandatory versus negotiable, and adjust based on your commercial priorities.
Candidate-side negotiation support
If a hire or their counsel pushes back on specific terms, we advise on what can flex and what cannot, and handle redlines directly if needed.
Finalization and registration
We deliver execution-ready contracts in the format required by MOHRE or the relevant free zone authority, with Arabic translations where mandatory. We confirm the documents are registration-ready so your HR or PRO team can proceed without delays.
Discuss
the Task
Speak to our team
Speak to our team. Tell us about your task –
we’ll help you with it in any jurisdiction.