How to Handle Skilled Employees Who Deliberately Work Slowly Under UAE Law?

Hi, I have a query on how to deal with employees who deliberately work slowly and do not achieve the desired output. Other groups are achieving the output, and these employees are skilled and experienced.

Disciplinary Actions Under UAE Law

What kind of disciplinary action can be taken as per UAE law? I know the typical course of disciplinary action—first warning, second, and final warning—but this approach is not working.

Is it possible to deduct part of the salary?

Regards

It is not clear whether the workers going slow are skilled or unskilled. Have you set targets for them? Have you tried to find out why they are not meeting targets by talking to them? Issuing warnings should be the last resort.

Thank you.

Regards,

Dear Gafoor, this is in addition to what Mr. Simhan has said. Why are workers working slowly? What are the causes behind this? Have you conducted an analysis? Do they have adequate tools? Is the material available on time? If the material is available, do the workers spend time segregating the quality material? What is the downtime of the machines? Has the periodic maintenance of the machines been completed?

You mentioned that they are skilled. How do you measure their skills? What about the managers of the workers? What efforts have they made to enhance the productivity of the workers?

Do the workers have mental support from top management, i.e., assurance that their employment will be protected? Do they also have the mental support of a union leader?

We need the above information to provide any solutions.

Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar

Further to what Simhan and Dinesh V Divekar mentioned, please confirm if this is a recent phenomenon or, in another way, since when you are facing this problem? By any chance, has this started after any specific person(s) joined this group, or is the situation totally unrelated to the presence/absence of any specific person(s)?

Please elaborate as per the postings of Simhan and Dinesh V Divekar. I am sure you will receive practical and accurate suggestions.

Regards,
TS

I would like to clarify a few things:

Background of the Issue

The background for these issues is that they had been provided the option of a target-based job, which they can complete within the specified time. However, there was a problem with the targets as the work assigned would change according to the production schedule, leading to slight variations in the targets. Consequently, they refused to work on targets. As a result, we changed their work from target-based to a normal time basis (8 hours duty).

These are just a couple of people; the rest of the team is performing based on targets. However, this situation may influence other workers as well, making it difficult to manage.

- These are skilled workers with 5 years of experience doing the same job.
- All tools are provided.
- Material is available on time.
- There is no machinery involved; it's a manual steel fixer job.
- They had no problems earlier and no past disciplinary issues.
- In the UAE, there are no trade unions, so there is no external influence from political parties.
- We had discussions with both the manager and the workers, which led to them working an 8-hour duty. However, during these 8 hours, they work slowly, completing only 50-60% of the job.
- It's important to note that the target-based job was also within an 8-hour shift. They are using the same tools, materials, and doing the same job but intentionally taking longer.

Thank you.

Was any attempt made to find out the reasons or causes for their behavior? How were they initially? If yes, what reasons do they give? If not, suggest finding out ASAP—there can be two ways you can do this: check with their friends or colleagues who are close to them, or put someone whom they trust to find out. You are right when you say that this could extend to other employees if not handled right away. Also, what are the worst-case scenario avenues or options available to you (as per UAE Law or Practices)—just in case they don't mend their ways fast or within a given time window?

Regards,
TS

I take this opportunity to suggest that we should provide as much information as possible to help people offer solutions without having to guess the complete scenario.

Additional Questions

Do you mean 2 when you say "a couple of people"? If so, two in how many? If they do not finish work on time, do you engage the same workers on overtime (OT) and pay them the overtime rate? Can their work be done by other people? If so, will there be any problem in engaging others in OT? I am sorry to state that I do not know the law in your country.

Have you set the production norms in any agreement or memorandum of understanding? Have you linked the incentives to production? Do you have any performance appraisal system wherein measures are put to achieve the desired targets? In that case, you can follow the appropriate line of action.