Skip to main content
  • Chapter 8: Human Resources

    • Introduction

      The Standards for the Regulations Regarding Licensing and Monitoring of Exchange Business

      The Human Resources (HR) function plays a vital role in hiring and maintaining the appropriate employees for the Licensed Person. The Licensed Person may appoint a dedicated person to manage the HR function or combine the HR function with another suitable function subject to the conditions of Paragraphs 7.2.4 (a) of Chapter 7, 16.4.7 (a) and 16.5.1 (g) of Chapter 16. This chapter provides minimum standards to be maintained by the Licensed Person in relation to the HR function.

    • 8.1 Human Resource Policy

      1. 8.1.1The Licensed Person must implement a Human Resource Policy approved by the Board of Directors (or by the Owner/Partners where there is no Board of Directors);
      2. 8.1.2The Human Resource Policy must cover the following at a minimum:
        1. a)Recruitment and Know Your Employee (KYE) Policy;
        2. b)Induction and trainings;
        3. c)Job descriptions and KPIs;
        4. d)Segregation of duties;
        5. e)Staff rotation;
        6. f)Working hours and overtime pay;
        7. g)Leave, holidays and vacation;
        8. h)Performance evaluation;
        9. i)Rights and responsibilities of employees; and
        10. j)The Disciplinary Process.
      3. 8.1.3The Human Resource Policy must be in line with all applicable Laws and Rules of the UAE. The Human Resource Policy must be reviewed at regular intervals.
    • 8.2 Recruitment and Know Your Employee (KYE) Process

      1. 8.2.1The Licensed Person is responsible to establish and confirm the background of applicants prior to placing them in the employment; and
      2. 8.2.2The KYE Procedure must include the following at a minimum:
        1. a)Initial screening of CVs;
        2. b)Verification of applicants’ academic qualifications;
        3. c)Testing and interview;
        4. d)Employment history verification by contacting previous employers to confirm the employee’s work experience and to gather information on previous role(s);
        5. e)Police Clearance Certification from the police authorities of each respective Emirate if the applicant is already in the UAE. In other cases, Police Clearance Certificates must be obtained from the home country of the candidate, if available; and
        6. f)Sanction checks must be applied on applicants before placing them in the employment.
    • 8.3 Job Descriptions

      1. 8.3.1Job descriptions must be precise and all employees must be provided with a copy of it in order for them to have clarity on their responsibilities; and
      2. 8.3.2A copy of the job description signed by the employee and the Licensed Person must be held in the personal file of the employee.
    • 8.4 Segregation of Duties

      1. 8.4.1The Licensed Person must segregate duties to ensure that no single employee has unlimited access to data or is responsible to carry out major tasks, especially in areas such as payment authorization, information access, reconciliations, cash management, etc.
    • 8.5 Staff Rotation

      1. 8.5.1The Licensed Person must rotate its employees at regular intervals among its different branches, among different sections within the same branch or within different roles in the same Department. However, this requirement is not applicable to the head of any function.
    • 8.6 Succession Plan

      1. 8.6.1Succession Plan must be in place to ensure timely replacements of key personnel such as the Manager in Charge, Compliance Officer, Alternate Compliance Officer, Accountant, etc. immediately once such positions become vacant; and
      2. 8.6.2The Succession Plan must be approved by the Board of Directors (or by the Owner/Partners where there is no Board of Directors).
    • 8.7 Code of Conduct:

      1. 8.7.1The Licensed Person must have a Code of Conduct for its employees which must include the following at a minimum:
        1. a)Guidelines for acceptable behaviour;
        2. b)Require employees to comply with policies & procedures of the Licensed Person and all applicable Laws, Rules, Regulations, Notices and the Standards;
        3. c)Confidentiality;
        4. d)Conflict of interest;
        5. e)Disciplinary procedures; and
        6. f)Right to appeal.