Q: Dear Sir/Madam, Does the employee have to compensate the employer for visa costs if they decide to resign during the probation period?

Q: I am under unlimited contract and still on my probation period. I work in a free zone area as well. In the contract, it says if I resign under 1 year, I have to bear the cost of the visa, airfare, visa cancellation...etc. What if I resign just after 6 months and render a 30 day notice period, how would I know how much will I pay? Do I even have to really pay, and do I get a labour ban?

Q: Good afternoon. I am on an unlimited contract in Abu Dhabi, working at a private company. I've been here for 5 months, now I submitted my resignation letter to my boss last May 18 as he wanted to put me on commission-based payment. I asked for a reduction of salary letter or any letter stating that I will be on a commission basis. He doesn't want to give me and wants me to reimburse the money he has put in my bank account. He wants me to pay for the visa costs. He is also holding my passport. I have filed a complaint on MOHRE about this on May 18. Then he received a message about the complaint and instructed me to leave. On May 19, I received a call from MOHRE and we settled and I withdrew the complaint. I went back to work to do the 1-month notice but he refused. He is threatening me that I was absent since May 18. He doesn't want me to work there, he deleted my work email. I was at the office on May 22 but he refused to accept me so I called MOHRE about my case and they reactivate my complaint again.

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).

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.