Q: Dear Sir, I'm Satheesh from Abu Dhabi. For the past 3 years, I was working for a free zone company in Dubai. Our company have clients from both Dubai and Abu Dhabi and doing medical billing services for hospitals and medical centres. I was working with one of the company's clients which is a government hospital in Abu Dhabi (please note - govt is removing our company by Sept.). My concern is that the hospital is interested to recruit me as their employee. But I already signed a limited contract with my company which has "Non-competition non-solicitation agreement". My contract states that I cannot join their clients or competitors for 24 months after my visa expiry or end of service. If I violate this law they will take legal actions and they can ask for compensation (Law no. 8 of 1980 for UAE and Law no. 5 of 1985 for Dubai). My visa is expiring by Aug 25th, so I'd like to join there. Can I join this Abu Dhabi government hospital or not? If I join, is there any legal issue I have to face from my company?

Q: Dear Sir, I need urgent legal help. I worked for a company for past 7 years in RAK. At the time of leaving the company, they did not provide me with my experience letter. When I exited to India, my new employer did not give me a new visa because I could not give experience letter. For 30 days, I was jobless in India. Then in a job portal, I found a job in another company in Sharjah, but it was a competitor to my previous company. I had no option, so I joined them to support my family. After 3 months of joining, my previous employer came to know, and now is threatening to file a case against me. I need to know the following: - What will be the consequences of the case? - Will be there any chance to win and continue to work for my new employer? - How much will it cost me financially so that I can plan accordingly? - And last, I would like to know the timeline required to have this case resolved. Shall wait for your response urgently. Ashley

Q: I joined a Dubai based company as GM in May 2016 and resigned with a one-month notice from 1-05-17 to 31-05-17. My boss told me to prepare accounts and clear issues ‘AFTER MY RESIGNATION’ (Used these words specifically in a letter) and took a security cheque (Blank dated) with a letter signed to this effect. Within 37 days I compiled that data with satisfaction on 7-06-2017, and in the presence of auditors, my boss processed my visa cancellation. My boss advised verbally to collect my gratuity and security cheque later on. After one month of cancellation, my boss filed a complaint in the Labour Department that I joined his competitors whom I started working with them. Four months after cancellation, he deposited my security cheque in the bank without my knowledge and it was dishonoured. I filed a complaint in Labour, but the matter was referred to the court. My boss did not recruit a new GM for the last five months, and things got messed up. Now, he is putting all the blame on me for his mismanagement and I am working in a new company now. I want my security cheque back with my Gratuity. Please advise.

Q: Employment non-competition evaluation. Employment contract section 11.

Q: If my labour contract does not include a non-compete clause, would article 127 be enforceable? What is the view on the employer holding the payment of final settlement and visa cancellation upon signature of a “settlement agreement“ that stipulates non-compete obligations along with other conditions? Noting that I filed a complaint against the employer refusing to pay the final settlement as per the Labour Contract, whilst the employer filed a complaint against me for refusing to sign the aforementioned “settlement agreement”. What articles/clauses can I cite in the first hearing at the MOHRE to support my rights? My hearing is tomorrow morning and I will greatly appreciate any help

Q: Recently, our management (Free zone company) asked us to sign a document. It mentions 3-month notice period as one clause. The other being if the resigned employee approaches or starts a business connection (as supplier and buyer) with one of the existing clients of the ex-employer, the ex-employer can file a case against the ex-employee for USD 100 K. What's the legal validity of this? I heard any document, or contract will not be valid once the employee visa is cancelled.

Q: Dear Sir, I am an Indian residence in Dubai for the last 24 years. I worked in a company with an unlimited contract for the last 14 years (from 2004) and left 15th March 2018. My first unlimited labour contract was made in 2004. After that, it has been updated in 26-9-2017. In the meantime, it is between my employer and me whenever they revise my salary they make a contract of 5 to 6 pages with the company rules and do's & don'ts. In that, they mentioned that as below: "The employee shall not, without the prior written consent of the employer, at any time during the period of 24 Months from the date on which he ceases to be employed by the employer take up part or full-time employment in any business where the Employer operates, or have shown good intention of operating, which in any way could be construed as being of a competitive nature to that of the Employer' business."

Q: Dear Lawyers, I joined a company in Dubai. According to the contract agreement given to me by the company, if I leave before the fixed contract period, I have to give two months' notice and pay a sum of 6000 dirhams. I agreed to this and continued to work under that agreement. However, the company has now introduced a new contract agreement, and all employees are under pressure to sign it. The new conditions state that no employee can take a similar job in the UAE and must agree to pay USD 3500 (AED 12600) upon leaving during the contract period. What actions can I take regarding the unfairness of this situation?

Issue: An employee resigned from the job after working for 5 years, and signs a letter addressed to the employer that he wants his gratuity to be paid only after his customer pays the employer. Therefore, has the employer defaulted for End of Service (EOS) payment under the UAE Labour Law?

The UAE has adopted a major reform in its legislative system that brought about 40 new laws and amendments to the company law, criminal law, personal status, among others. The amendments aim to develop the legislative structure in various sectors, the labor law being one of these, was the most recent. We try in this article to shed light on the changes introduced with the new labor law and their significance on both, the employer and employee.

The provisions of this Law, known as "UAE Labour Law", govern the relationship between employers and employees and other labour matters in the United Arab Emirates. There are special labour related regulations applicable in some of the free zones in the UAE.

The provisions of this law, promulgating UAE Civil Code, govern the civil transactions in the United Arab Emirates. The commercial transactions remain subject to the laws and regulations applicable in their regard.

The provisions of this Decree-Law, known as "New UAE Labor Law", govern labour relations in the private sector of the United Arab Emirates. The New Labor Law repeals the previous UAE Labor Law (Federal Law No. (8) of 1980).