Q: I have been working at a company for nearly 3 years under an unlimited labor contract as a Software Engineer, but the labor contract states that I am working in sales. The contract states that I am not allowed to work for a competitor for a period of 2 years in the UAE. I have got a job offer from a competitor with almost double the salary. The job offer is as a Software engineer. Will the non-compete clause be valid keeping in mind that the new job does not match my labor contract role? If yes, can the old employer prevent me (ban) from moving to the new role and can they file a law case?

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: I have a non-competition agreement signed with my previous company. Based on that, I cannot work in the same field or anything related. I was an office assistant but I was given a title as sales so the agreement can be effective on me. I want to know, will that agreement get me into trouble if I work with a competitor?

Q: Hi, I am writing to inquire regarding the non-compete clause. I resigned from a Dubai-based mainland LLC company in July 2021 and from then, they were not canceling my visa and not giving me EoSB. I filed a labor case and finally won the case after 6 months. I worked 7 years in a sales position with them. Recently, I received a job offer from a competitor to do the same role. The competitor is in Sharjah Freezone and I will be under a Freezone visa. There was a competition clause in my job offer letter which I signed 7 years ago but there was no such clause in the contract. And that time I hold a technician position and my recent position was sales. The clause written in the offer letter says: "should you terminate your employment contract, you shall not join any competitor in the UAE conducting the same activity as the company, before a period of one year following such termination". I am wondering if the non-compete restriction will apply to me given that I will be joining a Freezone company this time?

Q: I am still on probation and I have an offer from a company. I noticed that I have a non-compete clause with my current company and my next company is specified in a list under the contract. Both companies are based in Dubai. The contract is filed in the DMCC free zone, not sure if it's under MOHRE.

Q: Currently working at Company X in Dubai. I recently got a stronger offer from Company Y, a much larger firm in the same industry but in a different free zone. When I asked if Company X could match the offer, they proposed a bonus, not a salary adjustment. I resigned. While I didn’t disclose where I was going, they seem to know, and their legal team has started sending letters. My contract has restrictive clauses, including: “For 12 months post-termination, the employee shall not, without prior written consent, (a) be employed or engaged in any capacity by any business in competition in the UAE with any Restricted Business; (b) have business dealings with any Client or Prospective Client in such competition.” Friends in law say it’s too broad to enforce. I held a manager role, AED 30k/month, not C-level, though considered a key member. Despite the pressure, I believe they’re overreaching legally. Please advise if these non-compete clauses are enforceable.

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).