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 am an Endodontist Dentist from India. I got offer letter on 29 July 2016. The HAAD licence for a specialist dentist was complete on 14 October 2016. I contacted my employer regarding employment visa but every time he gave me an excuse! Now is 23 January 2017 till now there is no proper response from the employer about the employment visa. How should I move out of the situation? What legal procedures can I follow so that the employer either get me employment visa or let me move out to search any other job without getting work ban? Kindly help me in the situation.

Q: Hello, My employer, with whom I will sign the contract in UAE, has applied for my visa18 days ago, how long does it usually take for completing the full process of the visa? I am currently in Afghanistan.

Q: Good afternoon, I am a doctor working in Dubai. I am on a 2-year contract which is due to expire in 5 months. In the interim, I want to apply for another job, for which I need an experience letter from my present employer. However, my present employer is refusing to give me a letter saying that it is company policy not to issue a letter if the purpose of the letter is to apply for another job. Is it consistent with the UAE labor law to refuse to give employment letters to employees before the end of the service? Thank you!

س: السلام عليكم، عملت في منشأة خاصة لمدة سنتين وأحد عشر شهرًا. انتهى العقد. طلبت من الشركة الحصول على شهادة خبرة ولكنها رفضت ذلك. هل يوجد قانون يمكنني من المطالبة بشهادة الخبرة؟

Q: Dear Team, I would like to know if it's our business's obligation to provide an employee with a salary certificate. Our company is located in the DMCC free zone, and the authority often charges us a fee to issue a salary certificate in Arabic, which an employee requires for official government activities. Who is responsible for covering this cost, the employer or the employee?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, Can I file a legal complaint regarding my employer not providing an experience letter?

Q: Dear Lawyers, Am I eligible to get an experience certificate from my employer even if I have resigned from the company? I have been working here for 3 years now, but HR is saying that because I have not completed my second visa, they will not provide the experience certificate.

An interview-format article covering the topic of filing an employment court case in the UAE. 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).