Q: Hello, I’m working as a teacher and my school sent me on unpaid leave for 5 months I called Tawafoq, and Tawafoq contacted the school to tell them that I refused this unpaid leave. So the school said ok if he doesn’t agree with unpaid leave he can go to court. So now I My contract is limited. So I asked for three months breaking the contract and the rest of my rights. The question here is shall I raise the complaint like this or I should raise the complaint that I’m asking the school to pay me those 5 months for the unpaid leave months? I’m really confused because the school didn’t terminate me, but they forced me for unpaid leave and I didn’t sign it. I’m working for one and a half year with them. If you please tell what rights I should write in the complaint and ask the court to get it for me without doing or asking for something illegal. Kind regards, Mr M.M.

Q: Ramadan Kareem! I am working in retail with an unlimited contract. Last March, my income has been reduced by 20% due to the company's internal restructuring. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic got even worse forcing me to be in furlough. They have reduced my income by 80% until 3 months. At the same time, the company had asked to donate some of the Annual Leave days to help the company during the crisis. Is this legal? The company is going to put me into redundancy soon and they have advised that it will be only for a month instead of the 3-month compensation. Kindly advise.

Q: In the situation of the pandemic, my employer wants me to sign on reduced pay and calculating everything based on that like gratuity, unpaid leaves and notice period salary. What can I do? Also, how much will be the legal fees to fight a case?

Q: Greetings Sir, I have filed in claims complaint against my employer who has refused to pay my annual leave, 1 year and 5 months of working services including calculated overtime working for 12 hours every day and for depriving me of my 4 weekly off days every month. Due to the level of racism and deprivation of employees' legal rights, I made a complaint to the ministry of human resources and Emiratization after my employer failed to accept and sign the resignation notice letter given to him. After serving a notice period of 1 month the complaint was approved by the ministry for contract termination through Immigration. So he was contacted to pay me my benefits for the period of service rendered including my leave payment, but he refused so the case was filed in court. I want to know my stance on winning. It's a private company.

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I have been working as an engineer for my company for 14 months under a limited contract. The company has failed to pay my full salary every month, and as of today, I am owed 150,000 AED. I have filed a complaint with MOHRE. As I have completed 14 months, the company has not yet paid me my annual leave salary or my return ticket. In this scenario, is it advisable to resign? I am thinking of applying for a one-month leave of absence, as this is my right, and I can use this time to search for a new job peacefully. If I want to resign, how can I get my settlement? I am currently in a financial crunch, so what will be the court fees and lawyer fees? Also, how long does it take to get a settlement from my employer?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I want to know if an employee is absent for 1 month, will this affect his due date for paid leave, which is after 1 year?

An interview-format article covering the topic of employment in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW. In this article, Ludmila informs readers what they should do and where they should go if they have not been paid by their employer.

This article discusses the Ministerial Resolution No. (279) of 2020 Regarding Employment Stability in the Private Sector during the Period of Application of Precautionary Measures to Curb the Spread of the Novel Coronavirus Issued by the Minister of Human Resources and Emiratization in Abu Dhabi on 26/3/2020.

As the world is currently experiencing a major lockdown and suspension of almost all commercial and civil operations, the question arises in the novelty of Coronavirus outbreak on how serious it is to be dealt with as a Force Majeure.

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).