Q: I was working in a company for the past 2 years. I was given the duty of processing visas for the staff and labours and also for licensing the company. So they used to issue payments to me. Due to doing the work through agents, very few receipts were submitted. But I kept a record of all the payments made and reported the same to the company on a day-to-day basis. Now, they have terminated my services and when I submitted my settlement dues, they said they need to do auditing for doubts of embezzlement, only after that they will pay my dues. Also, I heard from my colleague that they want to put a case against me so as to not pay me any money. The termination letter was served to me and mentioned no need for a notice period of 30 days. To win the case they will go to any extent and they are rich too. I have no records to prove my innocence. What should I do? I didn't lodge any complaint yet in the labour court.

Q: Good day, I was hoping to get legal advice regarding my situation. Three of us in the company filed a labor complaint against the employer due to delayed and incomplete salary since May of 2020. The labor called our employer and agrees to settle our due within 10 days, however after that conversation, our boss sent us messages falsely accusing us of theft. He said that he has evidence but we are sure that this is just a threat as we didn't do anything wrong. On the day of settlement, as he promised, he never gave us anything, instead, he harassed us to sign the cancellation without getting our balance and threatened us that we will go to jail if we refuse. We know that this is what will happen because he did the same thing to other ex-employees who complained and those who ended contracts with him not getting anything because of that wrongful accusation. What should we do next? Shall we inform the labor regarding this or just file a case for defamation regarding his false allegation?

Q: Does an employee have to sign any paper with the employer to initiate his visa cancellation after the resignation and before last working day? My employer is asking me to sign a form named "United Arab Emirates Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation Electronic Work Permit Cancellation", where all my details are printed and written, "I certify that I have received all my dues up to date... Employee Signature". My notice ends on Aug 29th and they are yet to pay end of service...etc., and this is an unlimited contract and my employer is asking me to sign this paper saying this should be signed to initiate visa cancellation. But I am uncertain to sign as I haven't received my pay yet but the paper says so. Please suggest

An interview-format article covering the topic of employment contracts in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW. Ludmila discusses the aspects of limited and unlimited contracts, like the end of service, notice, arbitrary dismissal...etc.

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.

This Law promulgates the Federal Penal Code (Criminal Law) of the United Arab Emirates. Crimes and chastisement punishments shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of this Law and other penal codes.

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).