Q: Dear respected lawyers, A friend of mine, one of the accountants employed in a Company, has admitted to his Company of taking more than 300,000 AED over the past years by adjusting his net salary in the payroll file. The amount of adjustment is reflected in a hidden row in the payroll file. The payroll files he prepared were still approved by HR and accounting supervisors...etc. because they did not do a detailed review of individual payroll credits. The Company has now decided to do an investigation excluding him and came up with other amounts they claim he had also taken, but which he has refused. He is currently trying to negotiate with the Company to give him a chance to pay back the amount which is a valid claim while the Company is still considering whether to file a case in court or not. If the Company decides to file a case, what is the probable penalty he may face? Length of jail time and fines? While the Company is still considering, what can he do to avoid having the case filed in court?

Q: Actually, I want advice about my cancellation. There is one issue for my company, I took the two project payment (total of AED 8510) without the company's knowledge. I already got a termination on Nov 26 and after the notice period, they found this issue. Then I gave this payment to the company. After that, they're going to sue legally at the police station. Now the company's stand is not to give the passport & visa cancellation. They have doubt I took more money & someone behind me. I want to know what is the maximum impact in this case. Please advise on what I can do to get my cancellation & passport.

Q: Hi Sir, I have a case in Dubai Courts for the embezzlement of 30500. When I appeared in front of the judge in the 1st hearing, they asked me if I did it or not. I said I did not, then they said I need to submit my reply in Arabic to defend myself. What will be the charges from the court if I lose the case and where can I get it translated to Arabic?

Q: Dear, I made a 50 percent payment for an embezzlement settlement. Can the employer raise a case against me after receiving the full 100 percent payment? Please note the employer has given me written confirmation of the 50 percent payment which he has received.

Q: My husband works in a semi-government company in Dubai. Due to certain suspicious activities, the company has started an internal audit and found some financial scam against his manager. Later on, his manager absconded. The company has terminated my husband giving the restructuring as a reason. Though till time there are no charges against my husband, the employer has taken his passport. The employer is saying as he is the witness and passport is with the company, as soon the police tell him to release the passport he will hand it over to us. He doesn't know how much time the police will take. It's been 3 months without salary (one-month suspension and 1 and a half month termination). Now, can the employer put any criminal charges against us after termination if we are going to file a case against him in the labor dept.? We have no idea whether the employer has done a police complaint or not. Please note we have already taken a police clearance certificate and went to the police station 2 times and found no criminal charges against him.

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I have a case of embezzlement of funds amounting to 10,000 AED, as claimed by my company. The first judgment was to pay a fine of 13,517 AED, but I appealed and the final judgment will be on August 22. What will happen to me? Are they going to change the judgment to imprisonment and deportation?

Q: Can a company suspend me and accuse me of embezzlement even though they found the missing money? They are accusing me of returning the money after we found out there is missing cash worth 1,000 dirhams. They took the money but still accused me of embezzlement.

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, My previous employer has filed an embezzlement case against me after I left the job (almost 14 months ago). I have no clue what evidence they have, as it is a fake case. I also didn’t have any non-compete clause in my contract. The case is still under investigation at the police station and has not been passed to prosecution. My statement was taken two months ago, but there has been no further development. I do have a travel ban in place, as it is a criminal case. Is there a way to move the case to prosecution and lift the ban? How should I prepare for it?

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.

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 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).

The provisions of this Federal Decree-Law No. (31) of 2021 Promulgating the Crimes and Penalties Law, known as the "New UAE Penal Code", governs criminal actions in the United Arab Emirates. The New Penal Code repeals the previous UAE Penal Code (Federal Law No. (3) of 1987 Promulgating the Penal Code).