Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Grounds under which an amount can be deducted from EOSB

Q: Hello Sir, I am working in a trading company for the past 7 years in Dubai. My designation is Sales Executive. I have resigned from my job and I am in the 1 month notice period. Now the company is telling me that the payment of cheque bounce cases last year will be deducted from my settlement. Is there any rule stating such a thing that the payment forbidden company has to be deducted from the employee?

Traveling to the UAE after being deported from Qatar

Q: Hi Brett, I am a British citizen currently living in Birmingham. I was deported from Qatar in 2016, as I was carrying Cocadamol medicines at the airport. However, the medicine was purchased from the Boots counter without a prescription but they said we need a prescription. To cut the story short, my urine test was negative and I was released the next day. I then started working again and was flying continuously to the UAE, the UK, Saudi Arabia for work-related matters. But one day while going on holiday to the UK, I was stopped at the airport, and without giving me a reason, they put me in the deportation center and I returned back to the UK. Can I work and live in the UAE or Saudi Arabia? I had an unpaid loan in Qatar as they deported me so I couldn`t stay up to date with my payments. Will this affect me even though the bank is in Qatar. Hoping to hear from you soon!

Recovering money lent without an agreement

Q: Hello Sir, I have given cash to a person but he is not returning it yet, but only telling I will give you and changing time again and again. I have only chat proof. What legal action can I take against him?

The commencement date of the limited labour contract

Q: Good day Ahmed, Offer letter Contract signed between me and the company (Joining date of work): 24/6/2018. MOL Contract was signed: 17/7/2018 (Which says I entered country 26/7/2018 valid 2 years limited contract until 25/07/2020. Last day in the company: 7/7/2019. Did I complete a year? Since when will the court calculate? Thanking you!

How to find out the official date of joining work?

Q: Good day, Rajasree. Inshallah you`re doing pretty well. I have a question, please. When do they consider your official date of joining? Is it from the date you joined based on the contract between you and the employer or from when the visa was issued? I have a case with a firm and they are claiming in their defence that my date of joining is when my visa was issued. To make it easier, I joined work on 24th June 2018 - Last day 7th July 2019. The company is referring based on the labour contract (Limited), and it says that the contract is from the date I entered the country which is 26th July 2018, although I was here and I started work on 24th June 2018. ( I was terminated and the company is not claiming that). Thanking you!

Can the employer reduce the notice period date?

Q: Hi Hari, Appreciate if you can help me on the below query. I have recently resigned from my employer during the probation period. I submitted my resignation 12 days prior to my last working day and mentioned my last working day in my resignation. However, as per the employment contract, I have to serve them a notice period of seven days during the probation. My employer has now changed my last working day (for eg: If my last working date was 22nd of Oct they changed it to 17th of October) mentioning that you only have to serve a seven-day notice. Could you please advise if they are allowed to change my last working date? As per my understanding, it was a minimum of seven-day notice. However, I could have provided the resignation before that mentioning my last date. If they want to change the last working they have to terminate me on a minimum notice of seven days. Also, please let me know if during my probation I will be eligible for annual leave encashment and repatriation allowance.

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How to travel if the passport is impounded?

Q: My passport is in public prosecution because of a construction site accident case. My marriage will be next month in India. How can I get my passport to go to India for a minimum of 15 days?

Checking whether an agency is legit upon leasing an apartment from it

Q: Dear sir/madam, I have just signed a contract to lease a hotel apartment with an agency. They showed me the hotel apartment and when I say I’d like to lease the place, they took me to their office where we signed the contract. The contract was signed by me and the agent; not the hotel itself. They wanted one cheque for the contract which includes a deposit and commission; not in 3 different cheques for deposit/rent/commission. Also, they wanted the cheque to be addressed to the agency. Since I did not have enough money to pay 100% of rent/deposit/commission in one cheque, I asked them that I will give the rent in one cheque the day I move in. However, I gave them a cheque which was 10% of the rent and the agency cashed the amount already. Is there any way I can find out if this agency and contract are legit? I called the hotel to ask them if this agency is their official one, they told me they cannot confirm anything. And I found out that this agency is not registered in RETA. It is only DED licensed.

Recovery of outstanding dues against a supermarket

Q: We were selling our food items regularly to one big supermarket having 3 to 4 branches in Dubai for the last 10 years and were paying our bills within 90 days. Suddenly, for the last 1.5 year, they started delaying payment and rather not paying since 1 year for goods worth more than AED 100,000/-. We stopped selling goods to them for 4 months as not paid for previous bills. We follow up every week but they`re not paying. How can we take legal action against them or complain to the government authorities like the Economic Department or others? Please guide us.

Will an absconding claim appear in the police clearance certificate?

Q: Hi, If I have absconded from the UAE and moved to another country and I will need a police clearance, will it show up in my police record if I will obtain it from the UAE? Thank you!

رفع دعوى عضل لامتناع ولي الأمر عن القيام بواجبه

س: أنا عمري 21 وأبي هجرنا ولا يسأل عنا، شبه متبريء فقط يصرف علينا كل شهر. تقدم شاب لخطبتي وسوينا الخطبة. ولكن الآن مرحلة كتب الكتاب وهو يرفض نهائياً أن آتي ولا يرضى أن يوكل أحد أو أن يزوجني. دائماً يتعذر بأي شيء وكل أهلي موافقون ما عدا الأب. كيف أقدر أن أقدم على قضية "عضل الولي"؟

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The consequences of deciding not to return to the UAE upon being on vacation

Q: Dear sir/madam, I worked in hospitality in the UAE. I was given the opportunity to work for the same company in a different country as part of a task force team (but still officially paid and employed by the UAE property). When I was due to go back to the UAE, I had family issues that made me return to my home country and I took my holiday for some extra time. I decided not to return back to the UAE. I`m told that I need to pay 2 months` salary and will need to return back to the UAE to sign the visa cancellation. What`s the consequence for not returning to the UAE to sign this and can the business legally make me pay for the 2 months?

Responding to a police call for clearing a bank debt

Q: Hi. My bank filed a police case and the police called me to the station. I want to ask, shall I clear the outstanding and take clearance letter from the bank then go to the police station or first go to police station? Now, I can clear the full outstanding of the bank. But the question is, do I have to pay the bounced cheque fine as well if I have already obtained the clearance letter from the bank?

Is there a way to lift the overstay ban?

Q: Is there a way to lift the overstay ban? I overstayed for a couple of years and I was deported after an eye scan. I am sure the ban is lifetime but is there any way to lift the ban? I can pay the fine or some legal fee to get this issue processed. Please let me know!

Is it possible to apply for a visit visa after being medically banned in the UAE?

Q: Dear sir/madam, After being medically banned in the UAE because of old TB scars, can I apply for a UAE visit visa?

Claiming the labor dues from an employer applying for liquidation

Q: Hello, Can I please request an expert view on the below issue and possible further guidance? I would like to know if employees have filed labor complaints due to outstanding salaries, then: 1. If the employer does not give immediate cash settlement or agrees to provide personal PDCs to cover outstanding salaries&gratuities in a complaint of the labor dept., then how long process may last if it is escalated to labor court? And are the employees to continue work or stop? 2. Can employees switch visas if the issue is in labor court? 3. Can the company which is an LLC still proceed to apply for liquidation? 4. If they can, then how can salaries&gratuities be protected for the employees? 5. Should employees engage a lawyer to represent them against the owners of the company who decide to go into liquidation? Thanks!