Q: Dear Respected Lawyers, I am on management visa from Sharjah whose passport was denied by the employer after completing 13 months of service. They told me passport can't be given until my client in Iraq settles a business transaction dues the company did. Feeling insulted, I resigned on June 20th 2018 and stopped going to the office waiting for my Iraqi client to visit the UAE. Finally, the client came to Dubai on August 23rd and showed my employer his account where the client lost more than USD 700,000 because of the mismanagement of the project by the employer. The employer left the meeting room saying I will never get my passport or visa cancelled. He told if ever I report it to the Labor Department, I will be put into trouble through his contacts with senior police officials. Finally, I filed my labour complaint today for my Visa cancellation. Kindly advise whom should I approach at Sharjah Court to file a petition for getting back my Passport on an urgent basis. Humbly requesting your valued positive advice and assistance.

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: Hi Madam, I am working for a company on a limited contract in Dubai. I need to go for an emergency vacation, but the company isn't allowing the leave nor giving passport also. How can I get the passport from the employer? Please Help me.

Q: Dear Madam, How can I get my passport from my employer? My employer has filed a case against me for misappropriation of company money in Sharjah Police Station. When I went to my employer to claim for my passport to deposit in the police, he refused to give my passport and I deposited my wife's passport and faced the inquiry officer and they released me. How can I get my passport from the employer and deposit the same with the police station so that my wife can get back her passport? My labour card and insurance card are already cancelled by my employer since last 2 months before filing the case against me. My legal status is still valid, as my immigration has not been cancelled yet and my family is under my sponsorship. Please advise. Regards

Q: Hello Sir, I am working in a trading company for the past 7 years in Dubai. My designation is Sales Executive. I have resigned from my job and I am in the 1 month notice period. Now the company is telling me that the payment of cheque bounce cases last year will be deducted from my settlement. Is there any rule stating such a thing that the payment forbidden company has to be deducted from the employee?

Q: Hi I'm resigning from my current company. But I'm worried because there has been an incident regarding a payment from a customer some months ago. The company is a leasing company. The incident involves a tenant who is working under a company that pays for his housing provided that all necessary docs are submitted to them. One of the docs needed is Tawtheeq or the documented tenancy contract in AUH which has some errors/differences from his last year's Tawtheeq. Due to that, the tenant's company refuses to pay our company the rent which is around 35000. My company is blaming me for this and they said that I should pay for the loss. The tenant paid from his own pocket 20,000. So there is a difference of 15000. Can they claim from me this amount once I resign? Will I be obliged to pay it before they can cancel me? Or have any grounds on filing a complaint against me? What are the legal bearings of this if any? I'm under Unlimited Contract started 10/01/21. It's my 1st contract with them but it is my 2nd job in the UAE.

Q: My company is not giving clarity over my resignation on the last day of work. They have charged me with misconduct for an internal email sent to concerned stakeholders and using that email as a tool to withhold my cancellation.

Q: I work in sales and did a transaction worth AED 156k. We supplied goods to a client, but he did not pay us and eloped with the goods and money. Now the company is asking me to pay for the losses. Advise if this is legal.

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.

An interview-format article covering the topic of filing an employment court case in the UAE. 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.

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).