Q: Hello. I was working under DMCA free zone listed company for 8 months. I recently received a termination letter from my company. The end of service settlement provided by the HR director is showing only compensation for my vacations and saying my probation is extended after the 6th month for another 6 months, of course without my knowledge. My contract is limited and there is no clause in the contract about an extension option available. Is that legal? What am I entitled for as per the UAE laws?

Q: I am working with a renewed company. In my offer letter, it's clearly written I will be placed under 6 months probation period, and after that, my salary will increase. But now 10 months are about to end and they didn't increase my salary. I got an email that they extended my probation period for 3 months. I performed very well as compared to other staff. Kindly guide me, what should I do? Thanks.

Q: My probation period is 90 days and my employer has told me they will extend for another 90 days due to issues noted by my line manager. The reasons for the extension were not fair (personal rather than performance) but I was too afraid to challenge in case they terminated me on the spot. I have also since found out they have already started looking for a replacement for me and the extension appears to have been a ploy to terminate me quickly and cheaply once this person is found. Is any of this legal? Is there anything I can do to protect myself as the probation laws don’t seem to protect the employee?

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 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, 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.