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 worked as a site engineer in a landscaping company for about 3 years. Now, due to personal reasons, I have to quit the job (notice period given already) and move on to another competitive company. But in my contract, it has been mentioned that I cannot join in any other competitive companies. Please suggest to me if I can happily join another company as I have already given the notice period to my existing company or whether I might face any issues in future? Please reply urgently. Regards,

Q: If my labour contract does not include a non-compete clause, would article 127 be enforceable? What is the view on the employer holding the payment of final settlement and visa cancellation upon signature of a “settlement agreement“ that stipulates non-compete obligations along with other conditions? Noting that I filed a complaint against the employer refusing to pay the final settlement as per the Labour Contract, whilst the employer filed a complaint against me for refusing to sign the aforementioned “settlement agreement”. What articles/clauses can I cite in the first hearing at the MOHRE to support my rights? My hearing is tomorrow morning and I will greatly appreciate any help

Q: I own a company in mainland Dubai. Recently, some of my staff resigned in the middle of their contracts stating that they are tired and leaving back to their home county. I let them go on good terms. Even I offered an increment in salary, they still did not want to continue. One month later, I found out that they are working in the same business in a different company and now all my remaining staff also did the same; resigned in the middle of 2 years contract stating they are leaving back to home country, don't want to work in the UAE putting my company in loss where I don't have any resources to run the company anymore or pay them except their salary. What can I do as an owner of a company in this situation?

Q: Dear sir/madam, I had signed a labor contract with the Ministry of Labour which had no "non-compete" clause. Now, I want to leave the company, but my employer wants me to sign the "non-compete" clause in the termination contract. In this case, is the non-compete clause applicable or not?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, Before I left the company, I signed a non-competition clause stating that I could not join any company that is a competitor for two years. My question is, can I work in the same industry (as a competitor) of my previous company now that I have a Golden Visa under my wife?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I had a contract with my former employer that had a 3-year non-compete clause. This was an internal company contract. I later signed another contract with the Dubai Media City Authority, which only mentions that my non-compete is limited to the territory of Dubai. Which contract am I bound by? Additionally, the line of business is different between my former employer and my new employer. However, my former employer is saying that they will take legal action and file a case against me. My new employer has a business within their group umbrella that is similar to one of the products of my former employer. Can I be held legally liable?

Q: Dear Lawyers, If my employer in DIFC requires a non-compete agreement that prohibits me from working in my specialty at another company, should they compensate me for this downtime? What else can I do if I have spent my entire life developing in my field? Which law regulates this issue in the DIFC zone?

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 law, promulgating UAE Civil Code, govern the civil transactions in the United Arab Emirates. The commercial transactions remain subject to the laws and regulations applicable in their regard.

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).