Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

The legal position of a partner without marriage upon splitting up

Q: Good Morning, My partner of 15 years and I are splitting up. In 2013, we purchased our Dubai apartment. My partner paid for it in full in cash at the time. We lived in it for 6+ months each year. We are both British. My partner is currently applying for UAE residency. He is now refusing me access to the apartment and is packing up my clothes to have them shipped to me. He has also taken me off his UAE will. He’s perfectly entitled to do that, however, please advise what my legal position is regarding the apartment as we are joint owners on the title deed? Many thanks,

How will the property of an unmarried non -Muslim woman be divided after her death?

Q: A family member (non-muslim, ex-pat, female) passed away. She was registered in the UAE and has a UAE working/residency permit, alongside a company registered in the FFZ. It appears there is no will. She has no UAE real estate. She has no children and was never married. She has a living mother and sister, alongside an adopted sister with whom no one has a contact. 1) How will heirs be decided? Using home country law or sharia? Can we choose? How do mother and sister show proof of lineage? 2) Using the inheritance law of our home country, the adopted sibling is seen as a full sibling. It will be a 1/3 division between the three persons stated above. Can a court in UAE overrule this part of home country inheritance (e.g. incompatible with UAE laws) and skip the adopted sibling? 3) Can legal heirs (e.g. mother, full blood-related sister) agree to a different division if heirs are decided? E.g. the sister wants to include her children as heirs. Or does this have to be done after the money transfer?

Is it possible to encash the annual leave balance?

Q: Hi Madam, I have an 80-day annual leave balance in my company. I am still working in the company. As per the UAE labor law, can I encash my leave salary? I requested my company for 60 days leave encashment. The company says that as per the UAE Law, there is no encashment. Is it true? If encashment is available, how to calculate my leave encashment? For my personal issues, I can`t go on vacation. I can`t take local leave also. Please advise me! Best Regards,

The consequences of resigning from an LLC company due salary delay

Q: Hi Ma`am, Good Morning! I am working in an LLC company in Dubai. I signed an unlimited contract in the month of April 2021. Now I am not satisfied with this company and salary pending is the reason to resign. Will there be any consequences if I resign within 6 months? My VISA belongs to the employer and my passport is also with them. Kindly advise! Thanks

How to reach an amicable settlement with an employee upon losing a labor case?

Q: I have an employee who filed a labor case that is in execution. I have tried over the last 2 months to reach an amicable settlement with him on the payment of his settlement. My commitment to him has been based on the commitments I have received from my clients to the company. He initially requested a 25% down payment and 6 PDC checks which I agreed to and he has since rejected that and then demanded 100% of his settlement which he then modified to 50% and 3 PDC checks. I informed him that it would not be possible to pay 50% and 3 PDC checks; the best I could do is 40% and 3 PDC checks as I needed the remaining funds to cover the current employee`s medical insurance, some of them have critical medical conditions requiring monthly medication. He has again rejected that and is demanding a 50% down payment to release the case and the block on the company trade license and bank account. I also have other PDC checks due and with a blocked account, these checks will bounce. The settlement is 291KAED.

حق الأخ في معاش أخيه المتوفى

Q: مرحبًا، يوم سعيد! أردت أن أسأل عن القوانين المنصوص عليها بخصوص معاش الأخ المتوفى. أريد المطالبة بحقوقي كأخ.

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Is it possible for a UAE court to oppose a judgment issued by a foreign country?

Q: My ex-wife and I are of the same nationality, non-Muslims. We were married at home country and were divorced back home in Feb 2021. The court back home granted custody to me. The children are 16 and 9 - all living with me in the UAE. They all go to school here in the UAE. However, she refused to go back home and now is an illegal alien living here in the UAE with an expired tourist visa with overstay fines of more than 6000 dhs. She just hired a lawyer here in the UAE to try to take back the custody. Can she do that? Or to be precise, can the UAE court meddle with the court decree of the home country?

Is it allowed to be represented by a lawyer before the small claims tribunal judge?

Q: Dear lawyer(s), I have a case against me in the DIFC small claims tribunal. Am I allowed to be represented by a lawyer before the small claims tribunal judge? I know I can have assistance in preparing any defense, but can I be represented by a lawyer? If not, is it possible to submit permission before the court and ask for a lawyer`s representation? Thank you in advance!

What happens if an employer doesn't cancel the employment visa when the employee is abroad?

Q: Hi, I would like to share my query to find the relevant answer. Currently, I am out of the country (UAE). My employer terminated me from employment and my visa would be expiring in October 2021. What happens if my employer doesn`t cancel my employment visa and it automatically expires or gets canceled in October 2021? Do I get the end-of-service benefits? Please advise!

Salary delay as a reason for filing a labor case and joining a new employer

Q: Hi, I am employed in Abu Dhabi. My employer owes me 2.5 months of salary as he didn`t pay me on time. I have a job offer from another employer wherein I have to join immediately. They will apply for my new visa. If I request to cancel my current visa and get a new visa from the new employer, can I still sue my previous employer after 1 or 2 months? Could you please tell me my options in this? I have to obtain a new visa from the employer and some international travel requirements are there in my employment.

A client refuses to pay the brokerages fees

Q: I am a real estate agent. Recently, one of my clients viewed a floor on my behalf. He came through my advertisement and I arranged his viewing. After viewing, he took a complete floor directly from management. He denied paying my brokerage fees. I am an agent who makes viewing on the 7th floor in the building and the building security knows very well that no one came before for this floor. After 4 days, my client closed the deal directly because there is a number mentioned in the management at the building security reception. When I called the management to inform him, he is a key client, one of them replayed: "sorry, we can’t do anything for skipping the agency fees". I need legal advice on how to take legal action. Please help!

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Falsely accusing employees of theft after filing labor cases against him

Q: Good day, I was hoping to get legal advice regarding my situation. Three of us in the company filed a labor complaint against the employer due to delayed and incomplete salary since May of 2020. The labor called our employer and agrees to settle our due within 10 days, however after that conversation, our boss sent us messages falsely accusing us of theft. He said that he has evidence but we are sure that this is just a threat as we didn`t do anything wrong. On the day of settlement, as he promised, he never gave us anything, instead, he harassed us to sign the cancellation without getting our balance and threatened us that we will go to jail if we refuse. We know that this is what will happen because he did the same thing to other ex-employees who complained and those who ended contracts with him not getting anything because of that wrongful accusation. What should we do next? Shall we inform the labor regarding this or just file a case for defamation regarding his false allegation?

Is leave salary calculation based on basic salary or full salary?

Q: Is leave salary calculation based on basic salary or full salary at the time of resignation or termination?

Determining the commencement date to consider for EOSB and leave salaries calculation

Q: Dear Ms. Rajasree, I am working in a private company in Dubai under unlimited contract. I need some clarification related to the calculation of leave salary and the EOSB. My labour contract was initiated on 02/07/2020 but the company called me for the work on 01/09/2020. I was unemployed for two months. Now, the company terminated me on 01/07/2021 with one month notice ending on 31/07/2021 due to a poor business situation. Now my question is, which date do I have to consider for the EOSB and the leave salaries calculation? My company says that all calculations will start from the date of joining. Kindly I request you to clarify in this regard. Best Regards, Mohamed

زيادة نفقة المطلقة والأبناء بما يتوافق مع دخل الأب

س: السلام عليكم، لتعذُّر إثبات الطلاق للضرر نظرًا لعدم وجود شهود، فقد طلبت الخلع مقابل منحي كامل حقوق نفقات الأبناء. ابني عمره 11 سنة وابنتي 10 سنوات، ولكن في التوجيه الأسري حُكم لي فقط بنفقة مقدارها 6100 تشمل: 2500 البيت والكهرباء والماء و3000 نفقة الولدين و600 حضانة على أن تكون مصاريف الدراسة والعلاج على الزوج. رفض الموجه طلب بدل استقدام خادمة، وراتب خادمة، وبدل مواصلات، وبدل إنترنت، وبدل كسوة العيدين والصيف والشتاء، إضافة إلى إلزامي بتسليم حضانة الولد والبنت حين بلوغ السن القانوني وهذا ما رفضته تمامًا و بشدة. علمًا بأن الخادمة موجودة عندنا ويُصرَف لها راتب 1800، ومتوفر سيارة، ويصرف أبنائي من 1500 - 2000 شهريًا على الملابس و2000 ترفيه (500 كل أسبوع)، و600 رصيد هاتف، و1500 مطاعم. أود التنويه إلى أن راتب الزوج 28000 درهم. وعليه التزام واحد للبنك قيمته 5000 ليصبح صافي الدخل 23000 درهم. بناءً على دخله، ما النفقة المصرَّح لي المطالبة بها؟ وهل يؤخذ بعين الاعتبار نمط حياة الرفاهية التي يعيشها الأبناء حاليًا؟ وشكرًا!

هل تسقط حضانة الأم لعدم حضورها لاستلام الطفلة بعد الرؤية

س: السلام عليكم، زوجتي ربحت قضية الخلع والحضانة لابنتنا البالغ عمرها خمس سنوات. سؤالي: هل يوجد نص بالقانون يُلزِم الحاضنة بالتواجد لاستلام الطفلة بعد الرؤية؟ علمًا بأنها لا تتواجد داخل المنزل وتُوصِي أشخاص من العائلة لاستلامها بدون مبرر. مطاعم وسهرات. هل تسقط حضانتها لهذه الأسباب؟