Q: One of our employees has made a case against us for the non-payment of the final settlement. While discussing the final settlement before the case filing, the employee had refused to hand over the company laptop and data therein before the payment of notice period salary of 3 months. We have a limited contract with the employee under the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority. The employee was hired in August 2018 and terminated on June 2019. What protection do we have to claim against the employee for unauthorized taking away of company property? Can the court decide ex parte on this case? Can I file a case against the employee for illegal retention of company property? What is my liability?

Q: Hi, We have a previous employee who was terminated last February, and he received his final settlement and his visa expired in April. Then our previous manager renewed his visa in May for some personal agreement. He didn't report to work from May to July, and by the end of July, he filed a case while the previous manager was outside the country. He is asking for 3 months' salary & 3 months' arbitrary compensation. What can our company do?

Q: I am asking on behalf company. We had an employee who was the director of operations. He introduced a lady to our company that she will get us a big project and we need to pay her AED 250000 as a consultation fee. We were hesitant, but as he said he was confident we trusted him and agreed finally. The lady took our money and absconded to India. We went through India and filed a police case there and ever since this issue happened the director of operations wanted to somehow move out of the company and showed disinterest in work. Finally, he wants us to cancel his visa and says he will not help us recover or even help us with the police case. Now we doubt if he has got a benefit out of this deal as he is forcing us to cancel his visa. Kindly help us if we can file a police complaint against him.

Q: I have an LLC company. An ex-employee - with me for 12 years - is suing me in labor court. I told all my employees to leave in March 2020 when all events were canceled due to Covid as there was no money to sustain the business. He said he doesn't want to go back to Iraq with his wife and kids, so we agreed that he would do freelance work if any came in. In April 2021, he finally agreed to return to Iraq but kept stalling and then begged me in June to renew his visa - he said then they would feel safe if any trouble happened in Iraq to be able to return. I renewed his visa as a kind gesture to help him and he never returned to Iraq. Instead, he went to the labor dept at the end of December 2021 and claimed unpaid salaries for a year. The paperwork is not in my favor as it was not until the end of 2021 that I realized he was playing a game with me. Can I apply for liquidation as the owner of the LLC Economic Dept. license? I do not have the huge funds to pay what he is claiming.

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.

This Decree sets the rules and conditions for the termination of fixed-term (limited) or unlimited (not term-bound) employment contract between employer and worker in the United Arab Emirates.

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).