Q: Hi, I have been working in a free zone company for almost four years now. For the last six months, my salary was very irregular and I am receiving it around 25th of the next month. My issue is that I have decided to resign and move to another company. However, I heard that my company is now asking all the employees who are resigning to sign a non-competition document. This document states that we shall not work with any competitor for three years, even though this clause is not mentioned in my employment contract. Since I am working in a technical company and with my experience, I will only be able to find another job with a company which will be in one way or another a competitor. Is this legal? Can the company force me to sign the non-competition document? What will I do if they refuse to give my salary, end of service benefits and experience letter when I resign?

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: Good morning! I have an offer letter (from my previous company) and a labour contract (MOHRE) which has different content. In the offer letter which was previously signed, we have a non-competition clause. In the contract from MOHRE which was signed after two weeks, it is not stated that we are not allowed to transfer to a competitor. Should the offer letter be void as per Chapter 1, Article 7 of UAE Labor Law? The letter is written purely in English, does this have an effect to consider it void? Only the contract from MOHRE has the Arabic language. Article 2 Arabic shall be the language to be used in all records, contracts, files, data, etc. provided for in this Law or in any orders or regulations issued in implementation thereof. Arabic shall also be used in instructions and circulars issued to employees by their employer. Where the employer besides Arabic uses a foreign language, the Arabic version shall prevail. Thank you very much. Hope to hear from you soon.

Q: Hi, I have an employment contract with a clause: non compete for 2 years in case of resignation. But, this clause was not mentioned in my offer letter when they hired me. My question is: do I have to sign now an undertaking letter of non compete clause while leaving the company by resigning because HR is forcing me to sign the undertaking letter now?

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?

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.

The provisions of this law, promulgating UAE Civil Code, govern the civil transactions in the United Arab Emirates. The commercial transactions remain subject to the laws and regulations applicable in their regard.

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).