Q: Does my employer have the right to hold my cancellation paper and passport after they cancelled my visa? As per my employer, I need to hand over the works properly and get the signature of my project manager. I already handed over all work to my colleagues and they already signed also, but the project manager won't sign it for no reason. My visa was cancelled already last May 21, 2018. Please help. Should I file a complaint against them?

Q: How do I get my salary and passport from my employer? I worked for my previous company for 3 months and decided to resign because of a better opportunity. I signed an appointment letter that I can resign within the probation period of 6 months. I resigned on July 15, 2018, and served the 1-month notice period and worked until August 16, 2018. They cancelled my visa on August 29 but still, they are holding my passport and my remaining salary and the worst is they are asking me to pay AED 13,000 for the visa processing, flight ticket and visa cancellation. What can I do about this? I need help badly. Thank you in advance.

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?

Q: Hello Ma'am, My English is a little bit weak. My name is B. S. I am speaking from Jebel Ali. My visa cancelation date is 14-02-2022. The company canceled my visa but they did not give me my passport, and they hold my salary for January month. I went to the management office and told them to give back my passport and they said first you give us 2000 dirhams and take passport according to Dubai law.

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.

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).