Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Presidential Court, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) has announced the launch of the third edition of the Emirates Labour Market Award 2025.
The first initiative of its kind in the UAE, the award recognises pioneering and exemplary practices in the labour market and honours outstanding private sector companies and distinguished workers.
In its third edition, the award has expanded to include 98 winners, up from 84 in the second edition, with a total prize value of AED 50 million, up from AED 37 million in the previous edition.
Additionally, a new subcategory has been introduced under ‘Labour Accommodations’ to encourage companies to implement sustainable and recreational initiatives and practices for their workers, particularly during national and Eid holidays. Organising such activities, in turn, boosts productivity, promotes positive values, and fosters a sense of belonging among workers, who are seen as valuable contributors to a society rooted in compassion, loyalty, and unity–all while ensuring compliance with laws that protect workers' rights and support their well-being and quality of life.
His Excellency Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Acting Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Chairman of the Award’s Supervisory Committee, expressed his gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Presidential Court, for his generous patronage of the award since its inception, which has reinforced the award’s significance and established it as a beacon for excellence and leadership in the labour market.
“The launch of the third edition of the Emirates Labour Market Award builds on the exceptional achievements of the second edition, which serves as the foundation of a renewed, inspiring, and more innovative edition. Through this award, we aim to further strengthen the culture of competitiveness and raise the bar for excellence across all sectors of the UAE’s labour market, underpinned by effective governance that upholds the principles of transparency and integrity”. His Excellency said.
He noted that the advancements introduced in the third edition reflect the Ministry’s commitment to sustainable development, elevating the award’s standing and alignment with the principles of sustainability, excellence and innovation. The award plays a crucial role in promoting best practices, while also reflecting the achievements of the UAE labour market in 2024 and contributing to its advancement. These achievements include the UAE labour market’s global leadership in nine competitive indicators, alongside significant growth in the number of companies, the workforce, and other key indicators.
Al Awar urged companies and private sector workers to showcase their pioneering and competitive achievements by participating in the award, enabling them to share their expertise and gain insights from new innovative experiences. He highlighted that the award serves as an ideal platform to foster partnerships, facilitate business growth, and motivate the private sector to contribute to the development of the UAE’s labour market.
The award comprises five main categories. The first category is the ‘Establishments’ category, which will honour 40 winners. The award in this category is granted to companies that demonstrate exemplary human resource practices based on several criteria including employment, empowerment, talent attraction, work environment, workforce quality of life, innovation and future readiness. To qualify for this category, companies must demonstrate the highest level of compliance with labour market regulations and workplace standards across various economic sectors.
The second category, ‘Outstanding Workforce’, will honour 30 winners across three subcategories. The first subcategory, ‘Skilled Workforce’, recognises workers in high-level professional roles, who are adjudged based on their achievements, commitment to continuous learning and development, and contributions to social responsibility. While winners in the second subcategory ‘Workers at Other Professional Levels’, and third subcategory ‘Domestic Workers’, are evaluated on the basis of their achievements and social responsibility. Participants in the latter two subcategories may be nominated by companies, the community, employers, and families.
Ten winners will be honoured in the third category of the award, namely ‘Labour Accommodations’. This category recognises the best investment in labour accommodations and implementing the best standards. The newly introduced subcategory will reward companies that support and implement sustainable initiatives to improve labour welfare, organise recreational programmes and activities for their employees, and foster a sense of belonging, loyalty, and national unity.
Three winners will be recognised in the fourth category, ‘Business Services Partners’, which is divided into three subcategories. The ‘Domestic Worker Recruitment Offices’ subcategory award goes to top-performing recruitment offices that follow best practices for domestic workers and the families they serve. The second subcategory, ‘Employment Agencies’, recognises leading agencies that excel in attracting and encouraging highly qualified talent for the labour market, while the third subcategory, ‘Business Service Centres’, honours outstanding service centres that implement best practices to empower their workforce and provide exceptional business services across the country.
The fifth award category is ‘Special Recognition’, which has two subcategories. The first subcategory, ‘Pioneering Company’, will recognise 12 organisations for their outstanding implementation of practices that have a positive impact on the UAE labour market, while the second subcategory will honour three influencers who have contributed to raising awareness of laws and initiatives regulating the labour market.
In its third edition, the award provides several advantages to its winners. Companies securing first place will be classified in the first category of the Ministry’s classification system and will benefit from discounts on the Ministry's services, with a maximum financial savings of AED 1.2 million. Companies securing the second place will receive similar benefits with financial savings of up to AED 1 million, while the third place companies will enjoy benefits with a maximum financial savings of AED 500,000. All winning companies will be offered MoHRE’s Diamond tier customer service, prioritising their transactions, addressing technical challenges, and offering access to premium phone service.
For the individual awards, the first place winner will receive a cash prize of AED 100,000, followed by AED 75,000 for second place and AED 50,000 for third.
Those interested in participating can submit their applications through the official website riyada.mohre.gov.ae until August 31, 2025.
All submissions will be reviewed by specialised committees based on criteria such as employment and empowerment, occupational health and safety, creativity and innovation, talent attraction, labour relations and wages, social responsibility, and other category-specific benchmarks. The winners will be selected through a rigorous evaluation process and honoured at a prestigious ceremony hosted by the Ministry in November this year.