Q: My employer is constantly delaying the payment of salary. I don't want to spoil the relationship with him, but I want to know if his actions are legal and if he could pay the parts of salary throughout the whole month. Salary in our company is paid by cash only. As I don't have a copy of the employment contract, I can't say whether anything is written concerning the terms of salary payment or not. How can I avoid this and what are my rights?

Q: Hello Sir, I am working in the UAE as a Telecom Engineer (but visa as an Electronic Exchanger). My company has no project since Feb 2017. They asked me to go on vacation in Feb 2017, still, they didn't get any project. I came back on July 13, 2017, without informing them. Now they are not paying my salary as there is no work, so I asked them to provide NOC so I can find other jobs, and now they are asking for visa amount. WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW? Visa issue date: June 2016 (2 yrs employment visa) Please suggest me what to do.

Q: I am working in a Dubai based company (free zone) for 3 years now. I have not been paid my salary for past 7 months. My employer has lots of influence and is not afraid if I file a case on him. If I resign I'm afraid he wouldn't pay me anything. I'm in desperate need of money. Please help.

Q: I worked for a Federal Government entity in the UAE; this entity was created by special decree so it doesn’t have a normal trade license or Labour contracts from MOL. Instead, we have signed employment contract which states it is governed by Labour Law of 1980, other federal laws and will be in the jurisdiction of Abu Dhabi. My employment visa is from the emirate of Dubai as the entity also had a branch in Dubai. I recently resigned from my job serving 3-month notice as mandated by the HR policy. My resignation got accepted within a day and I was advised that this day would be last working day, and my notice period has been waived off. I was just short by 15 days in completing 3 years of my service, and I had planned by cash flows assuming I would be getting paid for the next 3 months. Now, I am in a very bad situation as the employer is insisting I am not legally entitled to 3 months pay. I need your urgent advice on the matter as the Labour Ministry cannot get involved due to the absence of labour contract.

س: هل يخضع العاملون في المناطق الحرة بالدولة لقانون تنظيم علاقات العمل الاتحادي؟

Q: My husband is working in Dubai as a chef, but unfortunately, his employer didn't give him the salary for 3 months. The restaurant is a free zone visa type. Can you give us an idea of what kind of legal action we should take?

Q: My company owes me a total of AED 120,000 of unpaid salaries over a period of three months. My company trade license is from DMCC and they have informed employees that going to MOL to report this won’t achieve anything. If this is correct, what legal action can be taken?

Q: Hello there, I am working in a free zone company that hasn't paid me the salary of 7 months now. I want to know what steps I should take. Is there a labor call center for free zones? Under which free zone does IMPZ fall? And what is the authority for dealing with that area? What are the expected charges if I decide to file a case and will that be covered by my company or me? Thank you

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 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).