Q: Good day, I left the job one year ago with the consent of my employer but they have my passport and not cancelling my visa. They are asking me to pay them AED 10 for not finishing the contract and worked only for 8 months. Please let me know what action should I take to make myself legal or come back to my home country.

Q: I recently ended up my contract with my employer because of a medical grounds. Actually, we don't have medical insurance, we are working 17 hours and I am not getting any assistance from the company. After submitting my resignation letter, my employer accepted it but requested me to leave the country then only after he will proceed with the cancellation. He finally agreed after a long period of negotiation. Now, the employment visa is cancelled and he forwarded me the residence cancellation where it's clearly mentioned that I have until 08 December grace period. I asked him to give me back my passport which he is keeping it since I started working for the company and he refused, saying that only on the 19th Jan in reference to my flight date which is 20th of January. In between, I received an offer with three times the salary I used to get and a lot of benefits including health insurance. As per the labour law, does he have the right to keep hold of my passport even after cancellation of my employment visa?

Q: Dear sir/madam, I came to the UAE in January for an employment contract based on a salary of 6000 AED per month as a research studies manager. Now I didn't get my job accommodation or transportation or anything they mentioned in the labor contract. Even they keep our passports also. I asked them, if you don't give me the job, give me my passport so I can go back home. They said if I want the passport, I have to pay for the company. It sounds like blackmailing. Please give me some advice. Thank you!

Q: Hi, I want to know how can we take an order on a petition in Sharjah to take my passport back from my employer. And how much does it cost? My visa is in the free zone but my passport is with the HR department in the head office outside the SAIF Zone.

Q: Dear sir/madam, My previous employer has already canceled my visa and I have also got an offer letter from a new company. My previous company is still holding my passport and final settlement. I need my original passport to submit to the new company to start the employment visa process but the previous company is refusing to return my passport and the settlement money also. The company is saying that I need to change my visa status first then only they will return my passport. Can you please guide me on whether it is allowed to hold my passport even though I have already given an offer letter to the previous employer?

When an employee or employer mentions legal issues related to their labour relationship, the first question to be raised is: do you have a limited or unlimited labour contract? We try here to shed light on the relevant provisions of the limited and unlimited contracts in the UAE labour law pertaining to resignation, termination of employment, notice period and calculation of the end of service benefits.

An interview-format article covering the topic of an employer demanding to hold an employees passport. 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.

According to this Decree, tentative approval to admit a foreign worker for the purpose of employment in the UAE cannot be granted until an Employment Offer that conforms with the Standard Employment Contract is duly signed by the employee and presented to the Ministry of Labour.

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).