Q: Hi! My company has terminated me (with a few others) due to COVID-19. April 30th is my last day and I am relying on getting my gratuity to keep me afloat for a while as I look for a new job. However, my employer said that they will not release my EOS until they cancel my visa. Given the current situation, how can I go about this? How long can I stay after they cancel my visa? The UAE government recently announced that they will let people stay in the country until the end of the year due to the travel restrictions, does this apply to me as well?

Q: Hello, On 17th March, I have traveled to India on my annual leave (approved by the company) and I was supposed to return on the 10th of April but due to the Corona outbreak, all the flights were canceled so I am stuck in India. Now last week, around 26 or 27th April, my company called me and they informed me on a phone call that, due to this unexpected situation, we are not getting any new business so we decided to remove you from my position at the company with immediate effects. They have not even paid me my annual leaves. Now without giving any notice, they simply asked me not to continue with the company, and they are not ready to pay anything, giving an excuse for the loss of business. I have joined this company in September 2019. My contract is an unlimited contract. Could you please let me know if I open the case against my employer, can I get the end of service benefits? They also said we can continue your visa if you want to come back to look for another job.

Q: Hi, I have been working for a US company since Jan 1st, 2002. On Monday, 20th Jan 2020. I was given a letter of termination which only stated we are terminating your position. I was on a UK contract from 2002 to December 2018 and they forced me to move to a local Dubai contract, I’ve been employed in Jebel Ali Free Zone for the whole duration. I had no prior warning of this, but I was asked to leave immediately and hand in my company laptop and take a 30-day garden leave. I was also given 60 additional days as an ex gratia payment. I have received the final settlement calculations which include gratuity. My question is, is this the correct procedure that should be followed? When are they entitled to cancel my visa? Is it after 30 days or after 90 days? My visa expires on 20th Feb so it looks like this was planned. However, am I entitled to ask them to renew my visa for the full 90 day period? And when do they legally have to pay my end of service benefits?

An interview-format article covering the topic of employment termination without a valid reason in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW. Ludmila discusses the aspects of termination, like notice periods, end of service benefits, arbitrary dismissal, unpaid salaries etc.

Issue: An employee resigned from the job after working for 5 years, and signs a letter addressed to the employer that he wants his gratuity to be paid only after his customer pays the employer. Therefore, has the employer defaulted for End of Service (EOS) payment under the UAE Labour Law?

Three new ministerial decrees containing a new set of rules for the labour market were issued by the UAE Ministry of Labour last year and came into force on the 1st of January this year. The decrees are expected to alter the contractual relationship between employers and workers in the UAE.

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).