Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I have two questions; one is about the non-compete clause term and another is about predetermined compensation. 1) My contract includes a non-compete clause stating that an employee cannot "in any capacity be engaged, interested or employed in a competitor's business in the UAE during 12 months after termination of the contract." I don't work in sales. I am working at a managerial level, I won't take clients or secrets with me when I leave. Is it valid when I join a competitor in a similar position? Can changing the job title/department avoid this clause? 2) My contract states that if an employee breaches any provisions of the clause, "the employee agrees to pay the damages equivalent to the employee's monthly salary for each month for the entire period." Does the company need to prove that I caused the damages to the company to file a case? Can they file a case as long as I join any competitor? Do I need to prove I didn't cause any damage to the company? Thanks in advance for your help!

Q: Dear Sir, I'm Satheesh from Abu Dhabi. For the past 3 years, I was working for a free zone company in Dubai. Our company have clients from both Dubai and Abu Dhabi and doing medical billing services for hospitals and medical centres. I was working with one of the company's clients which is a government hospital in Abu Dhabi (please note - govt is removing our company by Sept.). My concern is that the hospital is interested to recruit me as their employee. But I already signed a limited contract with my company which has "Non-competition non-solicitation agreement". My contract states that I cannot join their clients or competitors for 24 months after my visa expiry or end of service. If I violate this law they will take legal actions and they can ask for compensation (Law no. 8 of 1980 for UAE and Law no. 5 of 1985 for Dubai). My visa is expiring by Aug 25th, so I'd like to join there. Can I join this Abu Dhabi government hospital or not? If I join, is there any legal issue I have to face from my company?

Q: Hi, I am working for a company in the Media City as a developer and I have a non-compete clause in my contract. I want to join a competitor who is also in Dubai but because of this non-compete clause, I cannot join the competitor. Is there any way to leave my current company and join the competitor?

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?

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).