Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

The procedures of divorce and rights of wife and child

Q: Hello I need to ask that if a non-Emirati wife seeks a divorce from an Emirati husband, what would be her rights? The husband always threatens her with divorce and wants to be treated as a God. He is always bragging about what he pays for the electricity, house maintenance, water...etc, which is her basic right, and they have a daughter who is 3 years old. So she’s sick of all these threats and unhealthy relationship. He tells her if he divorces her, she will be in a very bad situation. So kindly tell me and guide me what is the law here and what are her rights if she filed for divorce. She’s not working, she’s a housewife and non-local. Married for 5 years only.

Arbitrary dismissal and entitlements after being made redundant

Q: Hi, I will be grateful to you if you could advise me on the following: I have been working for an international company for about 12 years. Due to a recent restructure, I was made redundant. My questions are: 1. Will this redundancy be considered an arbitrary dismissal? If so, will I be compensated based on my full salary, or the basic? 2. I have not taken my annual leaves for many years. Can I be compensated for the days I did not take in the past 12 years? Your kind response will be highly appreciated.

Calculation of gratuity upon resignation in a limited contract

Q: I have completed my first two-year limited contract and renewed for another two years. If I resign after completing a year of the second contract, after a total of three years of service, how would my gratuity be calculated?

Can I pay the court order in installments?

Q: Hi The labour court of the first instance has asked to pay my employee AED 12000. Can I ask them to pay in 3 instalments?

The impact of a company shareholder on closure decision by majority

Q: Hi, I am a partner of a Dubai based (mainland) company. Due to the financial restraints, the investor (shareholder) has decided to close the company. Now, I want to know if they can do this without my consent as the sponsor 51% and partner 26% have decided this. My share is 24%.

Expected legal actions for defaulting on a bank mortgage

Q: I have a property mortgage loan that I have paid for its instalments over more than 3 years without any failure. However, due to my financial situation, I will not be able to pay any more, because my income turned to zero. I need to know the legal actions they can take against me.

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Calculation of gratuity in case of visa transfer to a sister company

Q: My company is a group of companies, and now they want me to switch/transfer the visa with one of their companies which is under the same group. I want to inquire how my gratuity and dues will be cleared as they are saying there is no need for clearance as it is a group of companies. Please advise, how my visa can be changed or transferred without cancellation? How will the gratuity be forwarded to the transferred company? Please advise as I want to know the law, accordingly will ask my company.

Lifting a lifetime ban based on a court order

Q: Dear Sir, Good day to you. I have a lifetime ban from the Sharjah court given in 2014. I was arrested in a theft case in Sharjah which I did not commit but was scared of the police, so I signed where they asked me to and it was a confession paper in Arabic. We tried appealing in Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Office (Diwan) but it has been rejected. My father, mother, little brother and my wife are all living in the UAE. I too was living in the UAE since 1992. Is there any way I can come again to the UAE?

تعثر بسداد قرض وأثره على عائلة المتعثر

س: السلام عليكم أخذت قرض بقيمة 100 ألف درهم إماراتي في يونيو الماضي 2018 بنظام سداد 2757 درهم شهريا لمدة 48 شهر. للأسف، بعدها بشهرين تم فصلي من عملي وإعادتي إلى بلدي ولم أعطَ حتى فرصة البحث عن عمل حيث أن جوازي وهويتي كانا مع إدارة الموارد البشرية لصاحب العمل. المهم استمريت في دفع الأقساط وعملت توكيل لأحدهم لعمل سداد مبكر. البنك يطالبني بدفع 80 ألف درهم، علماً أن المستحق هو الأصل وفوائد السنة الاولى أي حوالي 108 آلاف درهم إماراتي. سؤالي هو: 1- لدي أسرة بالإمارات. هل يمكن أن يتأذوا في عملهم أو أن يمثلوا للقضاء إن تخلفت عن دفع ما يزيد عن 108 آلاف وهي القيمة الفعلية التي ينبغي علي دفعها (الأصل وسنة فوائد)؟ 2- ما هي العقوبة القانونية إن لم أدفع سوى المبلغ المذكور آلاف وهي القيمة الفعلية التي ينبغي علي دفعها (الأصل وسنة فوائد) وتخلفت عن باقي المبلغ المطلوب؟

Bounced rental cheques and expected consequences

Q: Dear Sir I have 2 cases registered in a Dubai police station under rental cheque bounce, with a value of 13000 & 18000. What will be the consequences? Will police detain me if I go to them or what will happen, Sir? Please let me know. Thanks

The significance of the expert opinion in a civil case

Q: Sir, I have a civil case going on in Abu Dhabi and now the judge has sent to expert opinion. What does this expert opinion mean and how does it work? The civil case is against me from my previous company.

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كيفية التصرف عند إنهاء علاقة العمل عبر مكالمة هاتفية

س: مرحبًا، في 17 يونيو عند الساعة الواحدة ظهرًا، تلقيت مكالمة هاتفية على رقمي الشخصي من ابن صاحب الشركة التي أعمل بها كمدير تنفيذي منذ 2009 ليخبرني أنه بسبب الوضع المالي السيء للشركة، فقد قررنا الاستغناء عن خدماتك. وحتى هذه الساعة لم أستلم أي إخطار كتابي، ومازلت أمارس عملي كالمعتاد. أرجو إفادتي بالمتوجب عمله حتى أحمي حقوقي المالية!

The legal way of claiming passport from the employer

Q: What to do if the employer does not give a passport? Who can help and what to do? Thank you in.advance.

Calculation of unused annual leave upon termination

Q: The employee was being terminated due to the non-availability of projects (Project-based) but under unlimited contract. He has 32 days as an unused leave. Article 5 of the Labour Law mentioned that accrued annual leave shall be paid on the basic wage, while Article 79 mentioned that it shall be paid on the wage basis. Please give clarification on this to avoid disputes. Shall we pay him basic only or plus allowance? Thank you for answering!

Termination of employment contract for unsatisfactory performance

Q: Dear Sir/Madam I am a Relationship Manager In a bank in Dubai. My employer has terminated my services (discontinuation of services) with reason as unsatisfactory performance during 2017. They have given me 30 days` notice period and have mentioned in the letter that I am exempted from attending office during the notice period. I seek your valuable advice, can I claim 3 months` full salary for my such termination where it was done all of sudden without alerting me with warning letters. Also if you can advise me how to file a case against the employer in order to claim 3 months` salary. Thanks and regards

Limitation period for claiming contract debts by the bank

Q: Dear Ma`am, I was recently contacted by a debt collection agency through a phone call on behalf of a bank in the UAE. They alleged that there are outstanding credit card dues from the year 2000 for some AED 200,000! I left the UAE in 1997 and did not continue my relationship with that bank thereafter. I do not recall the credit card debt in question and may have inadvertently missed out on the credit card payment, if any, at that time while leaving the country. What are the implications at this time? Now, that over 18 years have passed, can the bank enforce this debt to be recovered? Would appreciate your advice on this matter. Thanks, Regards, S.