Q: Hi Sir, I have been working in a company since Jan of 2015. On the 2nd quarter of 2017, the company was sold. All employees remained. So, we are still with the company but with new owners. This year, they changed the name of the company. Our contracts here expired last December. We are now waiting for our new contracts to be signed. It's taking awhile. Today, I was asked to sign a job offer dated Jan 2018. I am on husband visa. Isn't a job offer only for new employees? I am not new, we only have a new owner and a new company name. If I sign this job offer, does it mean I am a new employee and not an old employee who started in 2015? Hope you can help me. And is this a new requirement in Dubai? Even for those who are already on husband visa? Thank you.

Q: Dear Sir/Ma'am, The previous owners of a company in the UAE granted a POA (on behalf of the UAE Company) to a foreign partner in KSA to open a company in KSA. Now the owners of the UAE company have been changed. Do all previous owners have to sign if the company wishes to revoke the POA or the current owners can sign for revoking the existing POA issued on behalf of the company? Please advise.

Q: Hello. We have an LLC company where 49% is owned by an overseas company and 51% owned by a local partner. We are not doing any transaction with this company and hence would like to make a representative company with an overseas company owning 100% of the shares. Can we change an existing LLC in Dubai to a fully-owned entity limited only for marketing activities?

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.

It is the first article in a series of articles written by the author to give a better insight to the readers about the corporate governance practices under the best practice principles and the UAE legal system through innovative suggestions of its implementation for your organisation. Next series will be on the UAE regulatory framework on corporate governance.

Over the years the UAE has become a centre of trade and commerce for the Middle East, thanks to its strategic location, excellent connectivity and extensive services to assist with all aspects of business. According to the World Bank's 2016 report, the UAE has ranked 31st in the global index of ease of doing business. This encourages more entrepreneurs to set up different kinds of business entities in the country.

The UAE government has announced important changes to the federal Commercial Companies Law, the most significant is related to the foreign ownership of mainland companies. This will grant foreign investors the full ownership of share capital in companies carrying out certain activities specified to that effect by the competent authorities. This means that foreign investors’ shares will not be limited anymore to a maximum of 49% like before, but can be up to 100% instead.

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 Law apply to the commercial companies established in the UAE and the foreign companies that have established in the UAE a base to conduct any activity therein or established a branch or representative office. The Law abrogates Federal Law No. (8) of 1984 Concerning Commercial Companies.