Q: I am in my probation period. My visa is a free-zone visa and my contract is an unlimited contract. The company is giving me additional work which is out of my job description due to the resignation of an old employee. I am really struggling to complete all the responsibilities including mine and that of the ex-employee. Can I resign without getting a labour ban? Do I need to pay them anything?

Q: Hi, I joined a company in Dubai free zone 3 months ago with unlimited contract and a probation period of 6 months. My current situation is that I am not comfortable with my current employer and want to come back to my home country. I have handled my resignation letter 10 days ago. My visa is still in the process of making and I have not got my passport back yet. The company does not want me to leave and now requires me to pay 30000 AED without giving any explanation. Could you please let me know if Free Zone Labor Law allows a company to charge employee resigning from work during probation period? What is the process of resignation from here? When should company return my passport? Regards, Karolis Griskevicius

Q: Hi. I am on an unlimited contract as a project manager at a company in Dubai. I resigned from my job during the probation period, as I had to leave the country urgently and couldn't work for more than three weeks of my notice period. The company is asking me to pay them 45 days compensation as per my full salary and not my basic salary. First, are they entitled to any payment from me? Secondly, could they ask for payment as per my full salary or only basic salary? I appreciate any help on this issue. Thank you.

Q: Hello, My wife resigned while pregnant and was unable to work during the notice period due to complications related to the pregnancy. The employer is enforcing the penalty to her gratuity because of sick days during the notice period. All work-related duties, handover, were completed and the employer was fully aware of the situation with the pregnancy. Can the employer impose the penalty?

Q: Hi Hari, Appreciate if you can help me on the below query. I have recently resigned from my employer during the probation period. I submitted my resignation 12 days prior to my last working day and mentioned my last working day in my resignation. However, as per the employment contract, I have to serve them a notice period of seven days during the probation. My employer has now changed my last working day (for eg: If my last working date was 22nd of Oct they changed it to 17th of October) mentioning that you only have to serve a seven-day notice. Could you please advise if they are allowed to change my last working date? As per my understanding, it was a minimum of seven-day notice. However, I could have provided the resignation before that mentioning my last date. If they want to change the last working they have to terminate me on a minimum notice of seven days. Also, please let me know if during my probation I will be eligible for annual leave encashment and repatriation allowance.

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).