Q: Dubai companies are reassessing their staffing levels during the Covid 19 outbreak. Is it legal to be asked to take unpaid leave?

Q: I have been working in a free zone company in Dubai for 14 months and I did not get my salary for more than 8 months. Every time I was asking for the salary, the employer tells me that he did not get payment from clients and he is still saying like that. Now, I sent the resignation letter due to the non-payment of salary, but the employer told me that I cannot resign and I need to finish my 3-year contract otherwise he will deduct the amount from my salary. I don't want to work for this company and also I have a good offer from another company. So, do I need to work for the employers? Will I get a ban?

Q: I recently ended up my contract with my employer because of a medical grounds. Actually, we don't have medical insurance, we are working 17 hours and I am not getting any assistance from the company. After submitting my resignation letter, my employer accepted it but requested me to leave the country then only after he will proceed with the cancellation. He finally agreed after a long period of negotiation. Now, the employment visa is cancelled and he forwarded me the residence cancellation where it's clearly mentioned that I have until 08 December grace period. I asked him to give me back my passport which he is keeping it since I started working for the company and he refused, saying that only on the 19th Jan in reference to my flight date which is 20th of January. In between, I received an offer with three times the salary I used to get and a lot of benefits including health insurance. As per the labour law, does he have the right to keep hold of my passport even after cancellation of my employment visa?

This article discusses the Ministerial Resolution No. (279) of 2020 Regarding Employment Stability in the Private Sector during the Period of Application of Precautionary Measures to Curb the Spread of the Novel Coronavirus Issued by the Minister of Human Resources and Emiratization in Abu Dhabi on 26/3/2020.

An interview-format article covering the topic of employment in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW. In this article, Ludmila informs readers what they should do and where they should go if they have not been paid by their employer.

An interview-format article covering the topic of an employer demanding to hold an employees passport. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of LAWGICAL with LYLAW.

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 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).