What does Abu Dhabi's OSHAD framework (now ADOSH-SF) require for health and safety training?

ADOSH-SF is the current name of the framework formerly known as OSHAD-SF, and it is the key occupational safety and health (OSH) regulation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. ADPHC's Version 4.0 update notice states that the acronym changed from OSHAD-SF to ADOSH-SF and that the Abu Dhabi Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHAD) name was replaced by the Abu Dhabi Public Health Center (ADPHC) throughout the documents.

As at September 2026, the published documents are Version 4.0, effective July 15, 2024, with several Codes of Practice revised to Version 4.1 on February 27, 2026 and the practitioner registration mechanisms reissued on April 7, 2026, according to ADPHC's Code of Practice and Mechanisms listings. The old oshad.ae website no longer serves content, so references to it in older training materials should be updated to the ADPHC legislation pages.

The legal basis runs from Decree No. (42) of 2009 on the Abu Dhabi Environment, Health and Safety Management System Regulatory Framework, through Law No. (14) of 2019 establishing ADPHC, to Department of Health Chairman Resolution No. (43) of 2022 on the Abu Dhabi Public Health and Preventive Health System, which includes a chapter on OSH, as summarized in the ADOSH-SF Manual.

The UAE is a federation of seven emirates, so an employer can face federal law, emirate level rules and, in some locations, a separate free zone regime at the same time. ADOSH-SF is an emirate level framework for Abu Dhabi that sits alongside federal requirements, and the Manual states that where it conflicts with any existing federal or emirate law or regulation, the more stringent requirement applies.

Free zones are designated areas with their own licensing and, in the case of the financial free zones, their own civil and commercial law. Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), for example, describes itself as an independent jurisdiction with direct application of English common law across Al Maryah and Al Reem Islands (ADGM). The Manual says ADOSH-SF applies to all places of employment within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, but an entity located in ADGM or another free zone should confirm with ADPHC or its sector regulatory authority which OSH requirements it has been nominated or notified under.

Every place of employment in Abu Dhabi is in scope, but the depth of the training obligation depends on the risk classification a sector regulatory authority (SRA) assigns. The Manual describes three levels, and it states that all entities, regardless of classification, must comply with the mandatory technical requirements, including Codes of Practice, that apply to their activities.

SRAs are the sector bodies to which ADPHC delegates regulation, such as the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and the Department of Municipalities and Transport. In practice, the SRA's notification letter is the document that tells an entity which tier it is in.

Element 5 requires an entity to develop, implement and maintain appropriate OSH training and awareness procedures and appropriate OSH competency procedures, and it states that "OSH training and awareness shall be risk-based" and consider employees, contractors, visitors and other relevant stakeholders (ADOSH-SF Management System Elements, Element 5, sections 2 and 3).

Section 3.1 requires the training procedure to identify and evaluate OSH training needs, for example through a training needs analysis. The analysis must consider, as a minimum:

1. OSH policy and management system training
2. competency requirements for identified roles or tasks
3. risk management requirements
4. requirements of relevant operational control procedures
5. OSH roles and responsibilities
6. OSH emergency response and management
7. OSH inductions, generic and site specific, including contractors and other persons
8. OSH consequences of not conforming to specified procedures
9. relevant subject specific OSH training, such as manual handling and safety in the heat
10. specialized task specific training, such as confined spaces and working at heights

Identified requirements must then be evaluated and planned on risk, and the Element names an OSH training matrix as an example. Planning must consider learning aims and objectives, level of responsibility and competence, frequency, training types, literacy, numeracy and language needs, course selection and material development, trainer competency, assessment activities, training records, and refresher requirements. After delivery, training must be evaluated for learning outcomes and for delivery, and training requirements must be reviewed at least annually.

Section 3.2 adds a separate competency procedure. It must identify OSH competency requirements for all roles and tasks, measure individual competence against them, ensure people are competent on the basis of education, training or experience, record competencies, maintain and improve them, and review the procedure itself. This is the same distinction drawn in completion tracking versus competency verification: attendance alone does not satisfy section 3.2.

Medium risk entities follow a shorter list. Mechanism 5.0 requires them to ensure employee training that includes site specific OSH induction for new employees, task or equipment specific work rules and standard operating procedures, identified risks and hazards, hazardous substances, and first aid, fire and emergency response. They must maintain a training register, and the Mechanism's appendix gives a template recording date, employee, training type, hours attended, and employee and trainer signatures. Plant, equipment and tools must only be operated by competent persons.

Codes of Practice set topic specific technical requirements and, according to ADPHC, are mandatory for all entities regardless of risk classification. Many include their own training clauses. CoP 11.0 Safety in the Heat, for example, requires training in a language employees understand before work in high temperature environments, and training within 10 days of starting employment and before the defined summer months on recognizing heat illness, hydration, acclimatization and rest breaks, calling for first aid, and the employer's heat stress program. Managers, supervisors and first aiders each have their own listed training content.

One point often misread: Mechanism 12.0 on OSH awareness activities covers awareness delivered by SRAs and government entities to external stakeholders, not training for an entity's own employees. Internal training is governed by Element 5, Mechanism 5.0 and the Codes of Practice.

Each Element 5 requirement can be traced to a learning outcome and a piece of evidence an SRA auditor can inspect. The table below is an original mapping, illustrative rather than official, of the requirements most often examined.

For how to keep these records ready for an SRA audit, see how to prepare training records for an audit and how to set up verification of competency.

Start with the classification the SRA has given the entity, then build down from Element 5 or Mechanism 5.0 and add every applicable Code of Practice. A practical sequence:

1. Confirm the risk classification and the SRA from the official nomination or notification, and record which ADOSH-SF version each procedure references.
2. List the Codes of Practice relevant to the entity's activities and extract each one's training clauses into a single compliance obligations register.
3. Run the training needs analysis against the ten Element 5 topics for each role, including contractors and visitors.
4. Build the training matrix, set frequencies and refresher intervals, and plan for the literacy and language needs of the workforce.
5. Define assessment for each course and a competency standard for each safety critical task.
6. Evaluate outcomes after delivery and review all training requirements at least once a year, and again when ADPHC issues a new document version.

Organizations already certified to ISO 45001 will recognize most of this. The Manual notes that an OSH management system built to ADOSH-SF will include components of standards such as ISO 45001, and the competence clauses are compared in ISO 45001 competence and awareness. ADOSH-SF is more prescriptive on the content of the needs analysis and on the annual review.

Knowledge Foundry models each ADOSH-SF element, mechanism and Code of Practice clause as an obligation linked to roles, learning outcomes and assessment points before any content is written. When ADPHC revises a document, as it did for several Codes of Practice in February 2026, the affected courses and competency records can be identified from those links rather than by manual review.