Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

عدم إكمال المشتري سداد ثمن وحدة عقارية بسبب الظروف الطارئة

س: السلام عليكم، اشتريت وحدة جاهزة من أحد المطورين في دبي منذ عام، وعلى مدار العام هذا دفعت ٢٠% شاملة المقدم وبعض الأقساط ومتبقي ٨٠% تُدفع على مدار ٤ أعوام. في حال عدم استطاعتي استكمال الأقساط نظرًا لأي ظروف طارئة؛ كفقد العمل أو ترك الدولة، هل أفقد كل ما دفعت أم يمكنني المطالبة باسترداد جزء من المبلغ المدفوع؟ أيضًا هل يمكنني تحويل العقار للبنك أم لا؟ وإذا تركت الدولة، فهل سيشترط البنك بيع العقار والسداد الفوري؟ جزاكم الله خيرًا!

Forcing employees to take unpaid leaves due to COVID-19

Q: My company has placed all of the employees on unpaid leave due to the COVID-19 situation. Can they legally do this without even paying our basic salary or expenses?

Claiming EOSB after resignation from unresponsive employer

Q: I have resigned from my previous employer on 11 February 2020. I worked with the company for 10 years now. The company owes me a gratuity amount of AED 90,000. They earlier assured me they would pay my end of service in part. However, they have been ignoring my emails, phone calls, Whatsapp messages...etc. It`s been almost more than 45 days now. Can someone let me know how can I proceed legally with this and will I get my end of service? They have been doing this to other previous employees and don`t care about the UAE law. It`s a free zone media company in Abu Dhabi. Please help.

Checking travel ban in case of a pending court case

Q: I am confused. If there is a court case against me, will there also be a travel ban and possibly an arrest warrant? I want to return to the UAE to work and pay off a debt but I do not know which to check. Is it better to check if there are any cases filed against me or does the check for a travel ban and arrest warrant cover all of that and more?

Claiming arbitrary dismissal after termination for economic reasons

Q: Hi, I am working in a company situated in the free zone, and due to the economic crisis as mentioned in my termination letter, the company terminated me and gave me a 1 month notice period. My contract was 3-year visa I finished my 2 years 4 months ago. In this situation, does the company need to pay me a 3-month salary with notice period salary?

Closing a bank account after drawing cheques

Q: Hello, This is regarding a post-dated cheque given by my earlier landlord for the return of the deposit. I had cleared the apartment in May 2019 and he gave a cheque for March 2020. Now he is saying that the account is closed and he will give cash but is still delaying. Can I deposit cheque and if it bounces, can I file a police complaint. What do you advise? Thanks, appreciate it.

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Resignation during the probation period and compensation in limited contracts

Q: Hi, I would like to resign from the company where I had worked for almost 3 months. I am still under the 6-month probation period. I gave a 1-month notice in my resignation letter. My contract is limited. Would the employer ask for any compensation and issue an immigration ban? Thank you!

Employee's benefits upon arbitrary termination in unlimited contracts

Q: My contract is an unlimited contract. I worked for 2 and a half years and have been terminated today; due to "review of the department structure and unfortunately as a result of that review we are terminating your employment with immediate effect". The company has agreed that I do not need to work a notice period. What compensation benefits am I entitled to?

Terminating an employee's contract without notice while being in home country

Q: I am a New Zealand citizen, hired by Dubai based company to work for an assignment in Erbil. I started work in Dec 2019. I had to travel back to India in early Feb 2020 since my mother was not well. I returned back to Erbil on 3 March. I was told that my services are not required and it is terminated. During my working period, I did not get any written notice from the Dubai based company or the client. Now the company refuses to pay: a) My return ticket. b) My stay in Erbil due to Corona Virus lockdown. Can you please let me know how I should proceed. Regards,

Refusal to pay the salary because the NO Liability certificate is not provided

Q: Hi sir, I am working in a government-owned company since 4 months starting from Dec 2019. In March, I was supposed to get 3 months` salary together (kept on hold by the company as per their rules) for which I had submitted my old FAB account details when I was working in Dubai earlier in another company. But the accounts department could not transfer the amount saying that they are not able to do so due to the merging issue of FAB & NBAD banks. After several communications with the bank, I finally decided to cancel the account and open a new account with another bank and then presented the new account details to the accounts department. On this, I was asked to get a closure certificate from FAB which I procured from banks. Meanwhile, the FAB account was canceled and I informed the accounts department with relevant proof. But the company is insisting to get NO Liability certificate from the bank for the closed account. I approached the bank and they completely refused to give no liability certificate for a closed account. Please help! Thanks!

Non-renewal of a rental contract because of disagreement and COVID-19

Q: Hi, I hope everyone is staying safe. My rental contract is up for renewal 16 Apr 2020 and I wanted to know what my rights are in the current economic climate. I have been negotiating with the landlord since the correct time (90 days) but have so far been unsuccessful in reaching an agreement that both sides are happy with. Talks are still ongoing and I hope to find a resolution but I want to have a full understanding of what my rights are in the event no agreement can be reached. If we do not renew, we also don`t have the ability to view other homes or move due to coronavirus. Assuming no renewal is agreed by 16 Apr 2020, what happens? Thanks!

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Sending a non-renewal letter after leaving for a vacation outside the UAE

Q: If a sponsor allows an employee to leave for vacation even though the employee visa will expire after 2 months, and during vacation, the employee sends a non-renewal letter of her contract one month prior to its expiry date because of whatever reason she has: Can you consider that as a run-away? Or is this a ground for absconding? If the runaway case / absconding case is a fraud/fake, can I file a fake absconding case and sue my sponsor?

The process of visa transfer and sponsoring family members

Q: Hello, I am sponsoring my baby (10 months old) and my Filipino nanny. I am switching jobs shortly. My current visa will be cancelled in July and my new one will be activated in early September. Can you please explain where this leaves us in terms of the period in which I have no visa and my baby and nanny have no visa. (Can we leave the country and return during this period?) Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Resignation because the available job is different from the one on the contract

Q: Dear sir, I am working in an LLC company based in the mainland of Dubai with a limited-term contract. I have completed 1 year of my service with this company. My company is dealing with fire and safety system maintenance. I have received the offer from the company for the position of an electrical technician for fire and safety systems. As per my MOL contract and visa, my profession is an electrical technician, but, unfortunately, my company doesn`t have any jobs related to the electrical system. I have been doing some other jobs like cleaning of fire extinguisher and loading/unloading jobs for the last year. Now I would like to resign from this company due to some physical illnesses, but my company is asking for visa costs to cancel my visa. What is the compensation I have to pay to the company? How can I resign legally without a ban from this company?

Punishment for the possession of drugs in the UAE

Q: What is the punishment duration for my friend who got drugs? He got caught by the CID and he is in Alaweer jail for almost 2 months.

Application of Resolution 279 of 2020 on an employee serving the notice period

Q: Hello, I have been working in a local group in Dubai for the last 13 years under an unlimited contract. Recently, they have terminated my position, I am now serving 3 months notice period as per labor contract (2 months already served, I am now in the 3rd and last month). My employer has put me on a forced paid leave to adjust my notice period against leave days balance. I need some clarification of the below: 1. The employer is paying me a full salary for the notice period of 3 months. However, based on the recent announcement from the Ministry of Labor (for Private Co. employees), can my employer reduce my salary temporarily/permanently for this last month of notice period? 2. If the answer to question 1 is YES, how will it impact the calculation of my end of service benefits like gratuity or leave balance encashment? will it be recalculated based on the revised (reduced) salary? 3. Am I eligible to claim any other termination/redundancy pay apart from gratuity and leave balance encashment? Many Thanks!