Q: I am currently working for a free zone company in DAFZA. The job is not going well for me and I would like to leave. I signed a three-year contract and it has been nine months so far. My contract states that I need to give one month notice but my employer wants me to stay for two months. He says it is company policy not to accept the breach of contract compensation, hence I must serve two months without pay. I am supposed to pay him for three months half pay, and he is refusing to allow me to pay that and serve one month notice. I am even thinking of just absconding and going back to my country. Will I get a labour ban and immigration ban? I received an offer from one of our clients as well, but my contract has a non-competition clause. Does this apply, given that the two companies are in different industries, one is a supplier of products and the other is a consultancy service provider? I am considering going back to my home country as my employer is being unreasonable on the 2 months notice.

Q: Dear Sir, I would like to know more about the notice period to terminate a person in Ajman Free Zone and how to implement it. My friend got a notice period upon termination without a specific time mentioned in the letter. Instead, it mentioned, "as extended up to handover". Is this valid as can it be extended for more than the agreed terms, which is 1 month from the termination or resignation as per the labour agreement? Please advise. My friend is working at this company as a manager for the last 5 years, and the contract is unlimited. Salary is AED 30K.

Q: I have been working in JLT free zone (DMCC) company. As per my employment contract with the company, the notice period is 90 days. However, as per the law, the notice period is 30 days. Could you please advise me which period will prevail in this case?

Q: I am planning to resign from my current company in the UAE where I have worked for 6 years. My employment contract currently states that a notice period of 3 months is required. I would like to request that this be reduced to 1 month. Note that I got a job offer outside the UAE. Please advise how to approach the negotiation for the notice period, If they are not accepting the notice period negotiation. How to take it forward? How to avoid the UAE labour ban if needed to work in the UAE in future?

Q: On an unlimited contract which says 3 months notice, the employer has taken in writing 6 months notice separately. My friend gave notice. 4 months passed and he wants to leave the UAE urgently. The employer is holding his passport and not releasing it. If the employer gives a labour ban, no problem, but he wants to avoid a travel ban. What are the options?

Q: I’m working in a semi-government company with an unlimited contract and three-year visa in Dubai where I have finished 4 years and 8 months with the company. When I signed the first contract, the notice period mentioned 2 months, but currently, I cannot serve the notice period of 2 months, and my new employer cannot wait that long. Is there something to resign immediately with 2-3 weeks of notice? What will happen if I’ll not come to work after the notice date which I have mentioned in resignation? Thanks in advance!

Q: Does HR need to prepare an addendum to the contract if there is only a reporting line change according to UAE legislation? Note: internally, there is no policy requiring us to do so.

Three new ministerial decrees containing a new set of rules for the labour market were issued by the UAE Ministry of Labour last year and came into force on the 1st of January this year. The decrees are expected to alter the contractual relationship between employers and workers in the UAE.

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).