Q: I have been working at a company for nearly 3 years under an unlimited labor contract as a Software Engineer, but the labor contract states that I am working in sales. The contract states that I am not allowed to work for a competitor for a period of 2 years in the UAE. I have got a job offer from a competitor with almost double the salary. The job offer is as a Software engineer. Will the non-compete clause be valid keeping in mind that the new job does not match my labor contract role? If yes, can the old employer prevent me (ban) from moving to the new role and can they file a law case?

Q: Dear sir/madam, I have been working in a gas company for about 6 years. It is our company's rule that one cannot switch to another gas company in any scenario within 2 years of resignation from the company. They think that it may cause leaking secrets about customers and suppliers, procedures, and policies to the competitors. Is there any legal value of such imposition? Can a company hold an experience/character certificate or any other valued document or payment in such a case? Thanks!

Q: Dear sir/madam, I had signed a labor contract with the Ministry of Labour which had no "non-compete" clause. Now, I want to leave the company, but my employer wants me to sign the "non-compete" clause in the termination contract. In this case, is the non-compete clause applicable or not?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, Before I left the company, I signed a non-competition clause stating that I could not join any company that is a competitor for two years. My question is, can I work in the same industry (as a competitor) of my previous company now that I have a Golden Visa under my wife?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I had a contract with my former employer that had a 3-year non-compete clause. This was an internal company contract. I later signed another contract with the Dubai Media City Authority, which only mentions that my non-compete is limited to the territory of Dubai. Which contract am I bound by? Additionally, the line of business is different between my former employer and my new employer. However, my former employer is saying that they will take legal action and file a case against me. My new employer has a business within their group umbrella that is similar to one of the products of my former employer. Can I be held legally liable?

Q: Hi. I have recently joined an organisation in the UAE. They have shared with me an offer letter on their company letterhead which prohibits me from joining the competitors for six months after leaving. Later, they shared the MOHRE Job Offer Letter which does not have a non-compete clause. Both the letters I had signed. I was told they would share the labour contract but they didn't; instead, they copied my signature from the Job Offer Letter to the Labour Contract without my knowledge. The labour contract also does not have a non-compete clause. Now I need to know whether the clause applies to me or not if I join another organisation.

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I have signed an offer letter which contains the following: "The employee is not allowed to work with the company's client or direct competitor on the end of the employment without prior permission of the company". But my labour contract with MOHRE doesn't contain any such provision. Labour contract only contains the following provision: The Second Party shall be committed not to work in the same competing business of the First Party in UAE for the period of Two Years if the employee has terminated the employment contract or if their employment contract had expired without prejudice to the First Party’s legal or contractual obligations. So if I want to join a client after cancelling my existing job & labour contract, is the provision for getting the "prior permission to join the client" mentioned in the offer letter still valid? Does the offer letter have any validity after my resignation & cancellation of the existing labour contract? Do I have to obtain an NOC?

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, What is the case scenario for those employees who sign a non-compete agreement in a different document? It is not mentioned in my labor contract from MOHRE. Does it still apply?

Q: I'm trying to resign from my company and found out there's incorrect information between my employment contract, my government contract, and the employee handbook. I was under the impression of having a week's notice period but I'm being told it's 3 months and I'm losing a month's worth of salary. On top of that, it's showing a non-compete clause for the same industry. I'm trying to change companies in the same industry, how much of an issue is that?

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).