Can an employer withhold employee's EOSB due to customer's non-payment?

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for reaching out to me on this!

The situation stated by you is commonly applied by companies, however, it is utterly unlawful for the company to do so.

The employer can deduct money from the salary or EOSB only in certain conditions and they are laid down under Article 60 of the Federal law No. 8 of 1980.

Since the customer did not pay the company, the company can take legal action against the customer to collect their dues. Under no circumstance can the company withhold your salary due to non-payment by the customer.

Also, you mentioned that you have not been paid since March and your termination was due to poor performance. As per Ministry of Labour Regulation No. 765 of 2015 "Regarding the Terms and Controls for Terminating the Employment Relationship", Article 2 states:

An employment relation is considered to have de facto ended if the following instances occur:

1- It is duly established that the employer has failed to meet the contractual legal obligation to the worker (including, but not limited to, the payment of wages for a period exceeding 60 days).

In your case, the above applies since the employer is not paying wages since March, meaning your employer-employee relationship de facto ended when the salary was not coming in for more than 60 days.

For this, the law affords compensation in terms of Arbitrary Dismissal under Article 123 of the Labour Law. This will award you up to 3 months salary as compensation.

You can and you should immediately file a labour case with Jafza Authority complaining about non-payment of salary and arbitrary dismissal.

You may contact me via phone or email for further assistance and clarification.

Regards,

Hari Wadhwana