Employment Policy

1. Statement of Nondiscrimination
   Equal Employment Opportunity
   It is the policy of AFU that employment decisions shall be based on merit, qualifications, and competence. Employment practices shall not be influenced or affected by virtue of an applicant or employee’s color, origin, religion, gender, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristics protected by law. In addition, it is the University’s policy to provide an environment that is free of unlawful harassment of any kind. The aspects that this policy governs include but are not limited to: employment, promotion, assignment, discharge, and other terms and conditions of employment.
2. Affirmative Action Statement
   AFU does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, origin, gender, age, religion, or disability, in any of its policies, practices, or procedures. This includes but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services.
3. Conditions of Employment
   Employment Eligibility Verification
   AFU is committed to employing UAE citizens and non-citizens who are authorized to work in the UAE. As a condition of employment, each new employee and each newly rehired employee must have appropriate supporting documents to prove eligibility for employment. An employee must have the required forms completed and on file with the Human Resources Unit within three working days of their first day of employment.
4. Outside Employment
   Employees are not allowed to have other jobs while working at AFU.
5. AFU Ethics
   Staff members have to have a responsibility & loyalty to the organization, their profession, and society. The primary responsibility to one’s field is to seek and to state the truth as one sees it. To this end, the Staff member devotes time and energy to developing and improving the skills required for the assigned duties. The Staff member accepts, as well, the obligation to exercise critical self-discipline and judgement in extending and transmitting knowledge. Staff members are expected to interact in an atmosphere of mutual respect, with integrity and honesty. They should work with each other responsively in the day-to-day activities that further the mission of AFU.
6. Conflict of Interest
   Employees must conduct University business within guidelines that prohibit actual or potential conflicts of interest. This policy identifies areas of conflict which are prohibited by AFU Ethics and Regulations. The information contained within this policy is not comprehensive, but serves as a guideline to provide general direction so that employees can seek further clarification on issues related to the subject of acceptable standards of operation.
   
   Staff members should not knowingly receive directly or indirectly, any money or other valuable item(s), for the performance or nonperformance of their duties, other than the compensation allowed by AFU.
   
   Staff members should not use their official position to solicit or secure special privileges, exemptions or compensations for themselves or others except in performance of the duties as may be allowed by AFU.
   
   Staff members should not disclose or offer to disclose confidential information acquired by reason of their official position, nor use such confidential information for their own personal gain or benefit.
   
   Staff members should not accept or solicit compensation or employment that would impair the independence or judgement in the performance of their duties.
   
   Staff members should not rent, lease, sell, offer to sell either (as an individual or through any business enterprise in which you hold a substantial financial interest) goods, services, buildings or property of AFU. Employees desiring additional information concerning the AFU Ethics, rulings on conflicts of interest and other ethics issues may contact the President or the Human Resources Unit.
7. Nepotism
   Al Falah University’s (AFU) policy is designed to prevent occurrences whereby relatives who are employees of AFU are in a direct supervisory line with respect to each other. In order to guard against these practices, AFU prohibits top management employees -who are relatives- from being placed within the same line of supervision where one relative is responsible for supervising the job performance or work activity of another relative.  A relative is defined as: a parent, foster parent, parent-in-law, child, spouse, brother, foster brother, sister, foster sister, grandparent, grandchild, son-in-law, brother or sister in- law, daughter-in-law, or other family member who resides in the same household.
8. Open Records
   Certain information is made available to inquiring individuals upon request; this includes: position, date of hire, wage rate (gross figures only), and the forwarding address of former employees. Non-routine information may be accessible to inquiring individuals. All requests for documents shall be made during normal business hours and shall be made in writing. All requests must specify the document requested, the number of copies of the document, the name of the person requesting the document, and the date of the request. Sufficient time shall be allowed for retrieving and copying documents as requested.
9. Position Announcements
   In an effort to provide consistent employment practices that provide the employees first opportunity for consideration, the following procedures shall be used for the announcement of employee vacancies:

Position Requests of Administration Units will submit written requests for new position(s) to the HR manager. The HR may make a request for a position at any time. After the approval, the HRU will notify the Unit(s) head(s) as soon as possible after this deadline of his/her decision, to allow adequate time for a full and thorough national search. Prepare a Position Announcement and Recruitment Plan. The announcement should be sufficiently detailed to provide applicants with essential information and units with a document from which to develop screening criteria.
The position vacancy announcement will include:

• Position title
• Position description
• Required and preferred qualifications
• Date position is to be filled
• Application deadline
• Application procedure (to whom to apply, documents required)

Advertise Position: AFU is responsible for vacancy recruitment. Full time position vacancies must be advertised nationally and regionally in appropriate media for the discipline, and must be posted in relevant HR Unit and University offices for a minimum of 45 calendar days prior to closing the search. The recruitment effort should include at a minimum:

• A mailing to colleges and universities, and other institutions or organizations appropriate to the discipline;
• Announcements in newsletters or journals or the website. AFU will also participate in career fairs and utilize its own alumni database.

Acknowledge Applications: Units must send all applicants an acknowledgement of their application which also requests additional information if needed and Referral Information.

Screen Applicants: Applicants shall not be either excluded or included solely because of their geographical proximity to AFU. HR Unit shall notify applicants of the status of their candidacy as the screening process proceeds. The Human Resources Unit is responsible for the coordination of all procedures involved in the recruitment process. AFU shall give preference to UAE nationals over non-nationals and internal candidates over external provided they are equally qualified. The successful applicant must fulfill the following requirements:

• To be physically fit and free from transferable diseases.
• To have good conduct and behavior
• To have not been convicted of any crimes such as theft, fraud, embezzlement, forgery, bribery, or any other offenses against public decency or morality or disciplinary punishment for reasons of honor or honesty. 

Applicants who do not meet the minimum qualifications or who are otherwise rejected in the first screening should be notified in writing at the conclusion of this screening. At subsequent points in the search at which the HR Unit is no longer interested in a candidate, the candidate shall be notified. Candidates who passed the initial screening will be screened once more for the final interview list to be submitted to the President by HRU along with the selection criteria for the position. Any candidate whose candidacy remains viable shall not be notified until a final offer has been made and accepted.

Check References: Hiring committees are responsible for checking references of top candidates prior to the interviews. Before obtaining information from references or any other sources, the committee shall contact the candidates and obtain their permission.

Final Interviews: Only the leading candidates for a position should be interviewed. HR Unit shall consult with the President regarding list of final candidates to be interviewed prior to interviews being conducted. The interview process shall be consistent for all candidates.

Recommend Candidates: When the hiring committee and HR Unit head (when not a member of the committee) agree on the recommended candidate(s), they shall forward their joint recommendation to the President. After the President has reviewed and approved the recommended appointment, an official and binding offer letter is prepared in the HR Unit for the President’s signature.

Procedures in the event of disagreement over hiring recommendations

In the event of disagreement within the hiring committee or between the hiring committee and the HR Unit head, the hiring committee shall meet to attempt to resolve the disagreement prior to forwarding the HR Unit recommendation to the President. If the disagreement cannot be resolved, separate recommendations shall be forwarded to the President. If the President disagrees with the HR Unit recommendation, he/she shall meet with the HR Unit hiring committee to explain the basis for his/her disagreement. In instances where agreement is not reached among the President, and the hiring committee, the hiring decision will be sent back to the HR Unit and new candidates will be sought.