Questions & Answers
The consequences of terminating staff due to COVID-19 pandemic
If the employment contract has a clause that either party can terminate the contract with one-month notice, using this clause, can an employer terminate a staff without mentioning any other reasons or should we specifically mention that due to COVID 19 unfortunate situation we need to do a staff redundancy?
If so, are there any specific criteria or documents to be kept for selecting those staff?
Dear questioner,
Employers cannot terminate the staff granting them one month's notice without a justification related to their work performance after following the steps mentioned within the law. Covid-19 is not accepted or any other reason.
Staff redundancy is allowed under the law if the company is prepared in a way that shows the court that it was not arbitrary dismissal. Anyway, the company has to do this way to minimize the damages.
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Taken Care & Answered by,
Mohamed Noureldin
Legal Consultant (Licensed in Dubai)
In the case of terminating the services of the worker without a legal reason, this is considered an arbitrary dismissal and the worker deserves compensation for it from one to three months.
If the separation is due to COVID 19, then, in this case, the employer is obligated to pay the worker’s salary except the basic until he joins another job or leaves the state.
