Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Defaulting on property purchase instalments due to COVID-19

Q: Hi I have 2 properties bought off-plan. Both are overdue. Both are above 90% completed & approximately 6-9 months overdue. I lost my job due to COVID-19 & can no longer fulfil my financial obligations. The properties are with [--------] & [-------]. Is it possible to win a case, cancel the SPA & get my money back? I would like a friendly termination of the SPA which both developers have declined.

Claiming labour dues and pending salaries after resignation

Q: Hi Hayyan, Good Evening. Hope you are doing good and staying safe. I am G. S., an ex-employee of [------] LLC, an affiliate of [-----] LLC. I have been associated with the company for the past 4 years, and finally resigned as the company was not paying me since March 2020. I have finally got my visa cancelled as I had got a new job offer from another company. The reason which the company gave me is that I was working for one of the group companies, which was mapped as my cost centre by the company. My Offer Letter, Clearance Letter is from the mother company- as they were the one who issued me an offer 4 years back and gave me the visa of the affiliate. I have my pending dues/EOSB with the company and have to start the legal process, as they have not paid me. So, I need to put a legal case of mental/moral harassment which my family has gone through because of all this and get my money back from the company.

Requirements and validity for marriage of foreigners in the UAE

Q: Hello, I`m a Muslim resident in Abu Dhabi and my future husband is not resident in the UAE. We both have European nationality and he converted to Islam. Is it possible to get married religiously in the UAE? What is the value of religious marriage in the UAE without a civil marriage from our respective consulates? Thank you.

Termination of SPA and refund of down payment after losing income

Q: Good afternoon. My name is E., I have been made redundant last week and I have paid down payment last year for an off-plan building. Is there any chance I can get that money back? Thank you

Time frame to get the final judgment and money in a labor case

Q: I resigned from a company and currently under notice period (1 month). I have a strong doubt that my employer will not pay my salary due & end of service benefits easily. In this case, if I need to go to Dubai Court, normally, how much time it will take to get a judgment and my money in the present conditions?

Employee rights in case of resignation during unapproved absence

Q: I work as an admin assistant for a private school in Dubai. A teacher joined us on 17.03.2017 as an Art Teacher. On 5th December 2019, She travelled to her home country on the demise of her mother with no official communication to any member of the SLT and Principal. On 3rd January 2019, she sent an email to the principal for extending her holidays till 20th January on the ground of medical leave. She didn`t come back at all yet. On April 18th, 2020, she sent her resignation via email. My question here, since she is under school labour contract and she didn`t serve her one month notice period, is she eligible to the end of service benefits? I would appreciate it if you could guide us with the legality of this matter. Thanks, S.

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Terminating the SPA of an off-plan property due to delay and COVID-19

Filing a compensation case against an employer for accusing an employee of theft

Q: Hello, I was having a criminal case going on in Dubai court for the last 10 months and the case was filed by my employer regarding data theft but now the judgement has come up in my favour. I would request you to help me regarding whether I can file a compensation case against my employer. I was working in this organization for the last 3.5 years and resigned in Jan 2019, but they stopped employing me in the middle of the notice period. They told me that they will cancel my visa and clear outstanding dues. But it didn`t happen and then I filled a labour case and won. But in March 2019 they filed a criminal case and the judgement has come in this month as innocent from the first instance court. I was jobless for the last 1.5 years and I`m totally defamed in the market and can`t get a new job. Please advise whether I can file a civil compensation claim to cover my liability and wastage of money due to this case.

Checking a company after getting a job offer

Q: Assalamu Alaikum, I have got a mail from a company and just wanted to know if its fake or not. The details are [---------] Abu Dhabi, UAE. Below is the contact information of the immigration attorney whom you are to contact immediately to obtain an Affidavit of Guarantee from an Abu Dhabi High Court. [------------]

Filing a case and repossessing the property if the client defaulted on an installment

Q: I have a mortgage of 1.3m with a bank. It is a lease and the property is registered on my name. At the moment, I live outside the UAE and cannot sell the property because of COVID-19. There is a 40-day delay with payments - 1.5 installment is due. The bank sent me information to clear the outstanding amount within 1 day or they will start a police case and repossess the property. Is a 40-60-day payment delay long enough to start a police case and repossess the property? What can I do to avoid consequences? I can settle the outstanding amount within 15 days. I plan to sell the property when the borders get reopened.

Aggregator business's liability when gathering information from websites

Q: I am planning to start an online aggregator business in the UAE, specifically for electronic goods. i.e. when you search for, say, a mobile phone on my site, we will gather the information from all other platforms and let you know where you can find the cheapest one. I want to know: am I legally bound to tie up or inform the e-commerce websites whose links we will be using? Example: if you search for a phone on the website, we will compare and show prices of it on various platforms like Emax, Amazon, Noon, etc. for you to choose and make a choice. So, legally, where do I stand? Do I need permission or not? Since we are not selling anything so it is not under e-commerce rules. Please help!

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Winding down an LLC company and the liability of the manager after absconding

Q: Hi there Michael, I am a 24% shareholder in an LLC wherein the other shareholders are our local partner with 51% shares and the partner who is listed as manager on the trade license with 25% shares. The manager has absconded leaving behind unpaid VAT and other debts that are well over 30 days due (up to a year). No proceedings by creditors have been filed against the company and the MOA contains a general POA in favor of the Manager. I would like to wind down the company without going through bankruptcy procedures. My understanding is that the listed manager of an LLC is personally liable for the Company`s debts. I need advice about the procedures required to wind down the company. I do not wish to go through bankruptcy procedures as the finances and management of the company were being handled by the manager. I am just the creative director of the LLC. Please advise as soon as possible.

Staying in a flat free of charge after employment termination due to COVID-19

Q: The contract of my apartment expires on June, 30th. At the same time, my employer did not extend the new contract with me. I am a Polish citizen (Europe) and because of COVID-19. I have no flights to Poland. Do I have the right to stay in my current flat for about two months longer free of charge or do I have to pay to the owner? If so, how much should I pay? If not, then how to do it? Regards,

Getting information from abroad on a person arrested in the UAE

Q: Hi My boyfriend was arrested on the 29th of July 2019, it`s almost a year now. We don`t know if he has been sentenced yet We also don`t know what to expect when he does get sentenced. He was caught with a small amount of weed. Where can we get more information? We are in South Africa and don`t have any connections in Abu Dhabi.

Making an employee redundant and offering his position to a colleague

Q: My position was made redundant on 1 April 2020. The company stated restructuring as a reason for that. I was given a termination letter along with 4 other colleagues being made redundant from their positions. Meanwhile, one of the 4 colleagues whose position was made redundant has been offered and accepted my position (nearly the same job title) with a higher salary than mine. I served 30 days` notice. The last working day was 1 May. Considering the above, do I have legal grounds to file a claim for an arbitrary dismissal? Regards,

مطالبة الزوجة الوافدة بالطلاق للضرر مع حفظ حقوقها

س: زوجي يعاملني معاملة سيئة مع العلم أنني متزوجة منذ ٧ أشهر. لا يعطيني مصروفًا ولا يعاملني معاملة حسنة؛ بل يشعرني أنني خادمة فقط. لا أستطيع الاستمرار وأريد الطلاق، مع العلم أننا أردنيين تزوجنا في الأردن. ماذا أفعل وما الخطوات اللازمة دون أن أفقد حقوقي؟ ألغى إقامتي وجعلني على إقامته.