Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Contesting a divorce case and requesting to keep marriage

Q: Hello, My husband has filed a divorce case after 11 years of our marriage. The marriage took place in India as per the Hindu Marriage Law. I appeared before the court on 20th June with my documents. I was asked to bring my documents after translating them to Arabic. I do not want to give him a divorce and I am a financially dependent woman on him all alone in Dubai as an expat Indian wife. I do not have enough money to hire a lawyer. What should I do? Do I need to keep a lawyer or I can get my documents translated to Arabic and submit to the judge? Since I don`t have money to give the lawyer, is my husband legally liable to provide me with the lawyer fees for the divorce case? Or is there any lawyer who can fight my case and get his legal fees from my husband? I need urgent help as the next hearing is after two weeks.

أثر الاستقالة من عقد غير محدد المدة خلال فترة التجربة

س: التحقت بعملي وصدرت إقامتي منذ شهرين ولكنني لا أرغب بالاستمرار وأود أن أقدم استقالتي فهل هناك من حرمان؟ وكم مدته؟ علماً أن عقدي غير محدد المدة. ولكم جزيل الشكر.

المطالبة بمستحقات التركة بعد تجاوز الوكيل حدود وكالته

س: السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته، قمت أنا وإخوتي بتوكيل أخي الكبير وكالة عامة لمدة ثلاث سنوات بعد وفاة أبي لتسهيل المعاملات الإدارية والبنكية للشركة. بما أننا كنّا مقيمين خارج الإمارات، وبعد إتمام دراستي ورجوعي للاستقرار بالبلد، اكتشفت أن أخي استغل الوكالة العامة واختلس أموالنا وزور ميزانيات مدة الثلاث سنوات. حالياً، جاري التدقيق بالحسابات وأود معرفة كيفية استرجاع نصيبنا الشرعي أنا وإخوتي في أرباح الشركة. شكراً

Signing a clearance of labour entitlements for visa cancellation

Q: Dear Mr Khalifa I have recently resigned from my company in Dubai where I have worked for over six years. Currently, I am serving the notice period up to 30th June 2019. I resigned on 11th June 2019 but my company is asking me to serve 30 days notice period. The reason for leaving is they are not paying me my salary on time which has now increased to almost three months. My dues include 3 months salary (April, May and June 2019), 6 years gratuity and 10.5 days annual leaves. The total amount due is around AED 115,000. When I asked my company to cancel my resident visa (which is already expired on 22nd June 2019), they have sent me the final settlement which states the following declaration: "I, the undersigned do hereby certify that I have received all my dues from my Company/Institution and I have no right to make any claim after this date." I told my company that the dues are not cleared yet, how can I sign this form? but they are saying that this form will not affect my dues. Please advise.

Can the bank freeze the EOSB upon resignation?

Q: Hello, As I have resigned from my job, my last salary was marked and has been put on hold by the bank due to a salary loan. My question is, can the bank call my employer regarding my end of service payment?

Responding to the defense raised by the employer in a labour case

Q: Hi. I have filed a court case against my ex-employer for not paying my pending salaries and final settlement even after 4 months of my resignation and serving the notice period, and finally mutually agreed on labour and VISA cancellation. Today in the court 2nd hearing, the employer`s lawyer has given a bunch of documents against which I have to reply. The document mentioned FALSE STATEMENT that the employer has already paid all my pending salaries and even my final settlement. Also, the document states that I have not provided the required PROJECT`S COST VARIANCE REPORT for the projects which I was handling. The fact is I have not received my two months salaries and not even my final settlement which includes the gratuity and the leave salary. I have provided them with all the COST VARIANCE sheets for my projects and I have a mail proof of that. I wish to make a strong reply on this with all the legal terminologies. The claim amount is AED 60K. Need guidance to prepare a reply. How far my previous employer can drag this case?

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Quantifying and claiming damages in a criminal case of assault

Q: Someone attacked me in the parking lot in Abu Dhabi. He was arrested but got bailed. We will have a hearing, what can I ask them for as damages?

The difference between limited and unlimited employment contracts

Q: We are into hospitality and our hotel staff has been offered with unlimited employment contracts based on the management decision. But most of the companies are hesitated to provide unlimited contracts. What is the difference between providing Limited and Unlimited Contracts for staff?

Defaulting on the repayment of a loan and expected penalty

Q: I had taken a personal loan of AED 160,000 from the bank and I was paying regularly. Unfortunately, my boss took a huge loan and left the country, hence we have got stuck without salary and unable to cancel the visa. Finally, we found our local sponsor and cancelled the visa and got a new job with a lesser salary after 7 months. By that time, I became a defaulter and the bank bounced my cheque of AED 242,000 along with a police complaint. Now, what should I do? Do I get imprisonment? I am very scared.

Termination of a limited contract and entitlement for gratuity

Q: Dear Madam, Please advise. If an employee terminates the limited contract before its expiry date, is he entitled for gratuity/leave salary/air ticket? He had completed only 14 months.

Travel ban check and clearing any possible cases

Q: Hi, I would like to check if I have a Travel Ban against my name/passport, could you please advise what I need to do to check this out? Regards, F.

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Termination during probation and possible labour ban

Q: I am working as an accountant general. This is my 3rd month after getting the visa. My employer is not satisfied with my work progress and always shouting at me. I am so afraid that he will dismiss me. Will I get any employment ban? After the cancellation of visa during the probation period, will I get any grace period to search for any other job?

Is the notice period paid even if it is not served?

Q: I was employed by a DMCC company and has been let go during my 3 months probation period. My DMCC contract it says that whilst on probation, either party may terminate employment with a 7 days` notice period. The company didn`t give me 7 days but asked me to leave with immediate effect. Am I still entitled to get the (extra) 7 days (for notice) paid on my last salary?

Where to file a complaint against ex-employer for not cancelling visa

Q: Where should I file a complaint against my previous company? I was terminated in Aug 2018, in September I received an emergency and had to travel back home immediately. I informed the company and we came to an agreement that we shall cancel my residence visa once I am back in the country. After leaving the country, the next day the company applied for visa cancellation but never finished up the process with Immigration. Now, it`s 8 months of begging them to finish up the process but they have completely refused. I am outside the UAE and I can`t make any visa until the company finishes up with visa cancellation at Immigration. In the system, the residence visa is already cancelled by MOHRE and the labour contract is already cancelled. The only remaining part is with Immigration and they advised us only the company sponsor or PRO can finish up the process of which they have completely refused. How do I go about this?

Resigning from a company in the absence of a labour contact

Q: I am working in an LLC company (souvenir shop inside a hotel in Dubai) since January 26, 2019. That LLC company is renting a space inside the hotel. My visa is under the same hotel which is free zone, and the hotel PRO was the one who processed my visa and resident ID on May 21, 2019. Neither the hotel company nor my boss provided any contract for me. My boss pays my salary by cash and is always delayed, never been on time since I joined the job and sometimes he paid partially. I want to quit my job but I don`t know what will be the consequence since I haven`t signed any contract with the hotel nor my boss. Please help.

Tips for knowing the authenticity of an offer letter

Q: Hi Anitha, I am unsure if your advice is free, if not please ignore my request. I am in South Africa at the moment and applied for a Legal Advisory job. I received an offer from an LLC without an interview, and the offer letter also does not contain the landline number 9714...; instead, it is 9715... The first offer mail was sent from a Gmail account. I questioned this with the company by sending them a mail to the address on their website being [-----.com] and asked if the offer was legitimate. I then received a response from this e-mail that they are awaiting my signed offer. How will I know now if the offer is legitimate?