Q: A labor court judgment was ruled in my favor (I'm an employee) in December 2019, against my ex-employer, for nonpayment of salaries, expense claims, and gratuity. Unfortunately, they still haven't settled my dues. Worse, the owners left the country and the company no longer exists in its physical form; there is only a legal structure. They do not have any assets either. Does it make sense to still seek judgment execution? Also, are there any provisions to pursue the execution order in their present country of residence?

Q: A labour case was ruled in my favour and I received the judgement at the end of 2016. The judgement progressed to execution and not One Dirham has been paid by my ex-employer to date. We have spent the last year searching assets in all banks, combined with real estate, RTA etc. and all have come back with no assets. An attachment was made on the office assets, shortly after the Rental Dispute Committee issued a Judgement awarding the office assets to the Landlord. Finally, we located a valid Bank Guarantee held with a Government Authority. But the entity is not cooperating. As per Federal Law No. 8 for 1980 On Regulation of Labour Relations, Article 4 gives priority over all assets. However, in this scenario, Federal Labour Law, Dubai Real Estate Laws and further laws are all overlapping and conflicting. My query is, is there a document or law that states which law has priority over another to help resolve the issues I am facing with the judgement execution?

Q: As-salam Alaikum, My labor execution case number is {.....}. Al Adheed center asked me to get back after 21 days. More than 21 days are completed, but they are still asking me to wait till June 01. It is still in process. I need to know how long will it take to get my settlement from the company? Kindly advise me! Thanks & Regards,

Q: Is it possible for the employer to change the trading License or sell his company during the labor case?

س: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته، اشتريت مصنعًا ونُقلت الرخصة لاسمي وبعد مرور فترة زمنية، اكتشفت وجود ديون على المصنع في الفترة التي سبقت شرائي له. هل بإمكان أصحاب الديون مطالبتي أو التسبُّب بأي متاعب لي أو للمصنع؟ وفي حال تمكنهم من ذلك، فما الحل؟ مع الشكر!

Q: Hello, My company recently decided to change its license from DMCC to LLC. As such, with our visa renewals, we are now all applying for NEW visas. For me, this is fine, however, my colleagues sponsor their wives and children and now have to pay for the visas to be put on hold/canceled whilst the new visa is applied for. Is the company responsible for these costs due to their choice to change the legality of the license, or does the employee have to pay these costs, despite it not being in their knowledge that the trade license would change?

Q: Dear sir/madam, My employer’s trade license is getting expired very soon and he just made me a visa, so will my visa still be valid when the company trade license is not renewed?

Q: I have a 2-year valid visa but my company did not renew its license. Can I still travel outside the country and come back after 3 months? Will there be any issue to come back or have a problem with immigration?

Q: Hello, I have a commercial execution case for the recovery of payments. I sent a notification to the local owner (100% ownership of the LLC), but I see that the company has closed its office and its license has expired. How can the courts get the money ordered in the judgment? Thank you!

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 law promulgates UAE Civil Procedures Code (Civil Procedure Law) which governs civil procedures in the United Arab Emirates, including the prosecution before the courts, litigation and execution.

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).