Q: I have signed a labour contract with the non-competing clause for 12 months. I would like to know, how this can be enforced if I join another company whose activities are not exactly the same but are similar. I'm working for a manufacturing company and would like to join the trading company, which is my former employer. My current employer is not comfortable with me going back to my former employer and is asking me to refrain from this based on the clause in my contract. Kumar

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: Hi, I'm Sanu from Abu Dhabi, my job is medical coding. I need a clarification regarding joining the client of my employer. I have completed 3 years with my current employer (Billing Services DMCC, Dubai). My 3-year contract was expired and cancelled. Now one of my previous employer clients (a government hospital) is approaching me to join with them. I have already signed a non-competition agreement which has a clause - I cannot join my employer own client for 2 years. Please note, currently, the contract between my previous employer and this government hospital has been cancelled. Please advise is there any exception that I can join with own client as it is government sector? Is there a chance my previous employer can make a case against me? If they raise a case then how to survive?

Q: Hi, I have been working in a free zone company for almost four years now. For the last six months, my salary was very irregular and I am receiving it around 25th of the next month. My issue is that I have decided to resign and move to another company. However, I heard that my company is now asking all the employees who are resigning to sign a non-competition document. This document states that we shall not work with any competitor for three years, even though this clause is not mentioned in my employment contract. Since I am working in a technical company and with my experience, I will only be able to find another job with a company which will be in one way or another a competitor. Is this legal? Can the company force me to sign the non-competition document? What will I do if they refuse to give my salary, end of service benefits and experience letter when I resign?

Q: Hi, I am working for a company in the Media City as a developer and I have a non-compete clause in my contract. I want to join a competitor who is also in Dubai but because of this non-compete clause, I cannot join the competitor. Is there any way to leave my current company and join the competitor?

Q: Hi Ma'am, My 2-year contract will soon finish in November this year. So I submitted a letter stating that I'm not going to renew my contract anymore. It was a 3 months notice. Recently, she spoke with me and informed me that there is a non-compete clause in my contract and that I'm not allowed to seek another employer unless they allow me to. The clause states that "The Second Party shall be committed not to work in the same competing business of the First Party in the UAE for a period of two years, if the employee has terminated the employment contract or if the contract has expired as per article 127." I want to know if there is a way that I can still find and transfer to another employer. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

Q: Dear lawyers, If my contract is terminated by a Finnish company, can I join a competitor in the Middle East if I have a clause in the contract saying I can not join a competitor?

Q: Good afternoon, Can you help me? I have a few employees who signed a trade of restraint/non-compete with our company and now left to work for a direct competitor which is in direct conflict with the contract they signed with our company. What can I do as they now try to take my clients with them?

Q: Hello Everyone, I have been working with a client for the past year through a service company. The client has decided not to continue the contract with the service company, and instead, they have offered me a position through their consulting company, which I have accepted. I have also resigned from the service company, but on my last day, they pressured me to send an email stating that I would not be working for the client, either directly or indirectly. I have not signed any NDA or contract apart from the MOHRE contract. Now, the service company is threatening to take legal action and blacklist my visa if I join the client. Do they have the legal right to do this?

An interview-format article covering the topic of filing an employment court case in the UAE. 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.

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).