Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Failing to pay the final instalment for a purchased off-plan property

Q: I`ve signed a unit reservation form back in September 2016 for an off-plan project. At that time, it was 40% completed. I paid until mid of 2017 10% of the value of the property, as the 90% was set to be after the handover. Now, the handover started and I can`t continue to pay any further amount. I didn`t sign the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA). What is the legal advice here? Thanks

Working beyond the notice period specified in the contract

Q: I am currently working for a free zone company in DAFZA. The job is not going well for me and I would like to leave. I signed a three-year contract and it has been nine months so far. My contract states that I need to give one month notice but my employer wants me to stay for two months. He says it is company policy not to accept the breach of contract compensation, hence I must serve two months without pay. I am supposed to pay him for three months half pay, and he is refusing to allow me to pay that and serve one month notice. I am even thinking of just absconding and going back to my country. Will I get a labour ban and immigration ban? I received an offer from one of our clients as well, but my contract has a non-competition clause. Does this apply, given that the two companies are in different industries, one is a supplier of products and the other is a consultancy service provider? I am considering going back to my home country as my employer is being unreasonable on the 2 months notice.

UAE travel ban check and removal

Q: Hi, How do I know if there is any travel ban against me?

Degree attestation procedure in the UAE

Q: I want to get my degree attestation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I am in Pakistan, please let me know the procedure, your charges and days required.

Canceling employment visa to apply for a visa with another employer

Q: I have opened a judgement execution file recently for my salary case. Can I cancel my existing employer visa and start another job?

Employment clauses obliging employees to pay visa and labour expenses

Q: Hello, I received a job contract and I`d like to know if it is legal in terms of the UAE labour law to put such a statement in it: "The employee will bear the visa expenses, relocation expenses and all other applicable expenses incurred by the agency during the recruitment phase, in case of leaving before completing the first year". In case I sign such a contract, will I be legally obliged to pay visa expenses for leaving the job before completing one year period? Thank you.

Hire a lawyer online

Save time and money. Buy fixed-fee legal services or submit your request and get multiple competitive offers from qualified lawyers.

Buy services Get quotes

Filing a bounced cheque case against a debtor

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, Greetings for the day. I have given AED 150,000 to a known person (who is dealing with flat lease), on his emergency situation. He said he will pay the amount in 3 months. As a security, I took the whole amount in cheque. Apart from that, he had given 3 cheques total for AED 36000 for 3 months. After a month he left the country and didn`t come back for 6 months. Now, its been 8 months without giving me any amount and now he is here in Dubai. So, I contacted him for the money, and he told me "I don`t have money, do whatever you want". So, I thought of going in a legal way, where I deposited all the cheques of AED 186,000 and it got bounced today. Please guide me through the legal process, and what is the chance of getting my money back? Now, I am seriously in a very bad situation. I am about to lose my future in the UAE because of this issue. Please help me out. Warm Regards, Dinesh

Non-payment of salary and the proper legal action

Q: Sir. I am working in a restaurant as a food supervisor. I was working in a restaurant in Dubai, where I got an AED 5000 salary. A managing director of a restaurant in Abu Dhabi asked me to join his restaurant. That time he offered me a salary of AED 7000, so I resigned from my job in the Dubai restaurant. After I joined the Abu Dhabi restaurant, he mentioned in my labour contract AED 4500 salary only. That time he said above AED 5000 salary I have to pay more amount for the insurance, and the remaining balance amount he will give cash or cheque. So, I signed the contract. After that, he did not pay my salary properly. I was working around 11 months, but he paid only 6 months. In these 6 months, he also paid my basic salary only (in my contract, the basic salary is AED 3500 and other allowances are AED 1000, in total salary is AED 4500). Now, he is saying that he`s not going to pay because I bring losses to his business. So please help me with this situation, Sir.

Procedure of reclaiming a debt through DIFC arbitration

Q: I am a private investor (individual) and I have a lending contract with a Sharjah FZE company represented by its director and shareholder, who also has other Dubai based company. Returning the payments wasn`t met despite reminders and extensions. The contract has a late-payment penalty clause and dues are well above the original amount. The issuing bank (balance verification check) informed me that the security cheques were also invalid, as that the account had already been closed prior to issuing the cheques. The contract has a DIFC arbitration clause and UAE jurisdiction. The cheques are not formally cashed yet. What are my options to pursue civil litigation or other debt-recovery means? Arbitration? DIFC SCT? DIFC CFI? Dubai Courts? Current dues are in the range of US$100,000/- including ongoing penalties. I have a signed and stamped original contract, witness IDs, trade license and original security cheques. I am seeking to engage legal expertise for a reasonable fee, preferably linked to a percentage of a successful claim.

Drafting referral agreement to guarantee the payment of commission

Q: Dear Sir/ Madam, I am Sammy based in Nairobi, Kenya and I`m about to deal with an electric company in Dubai. I want to provide the company with business and in return, I get my commission from them after the deal is done. My issue is that we may have an email agreement with them, but later after the business is done they may evade from sending me my commission. I need a letter whereby I and the company sign it as an agreement to avoid nonpayment. Please help. Regards

Checking a possible travel ban before going on vacation

Q: My passport number is G6421340, and I want to check if I have a travel ban. I need to go this coming February on vacation.

Looking for something else?

Ask for advice from a lawyer

It’s free and anonymous

No registration needed

Ask a lawyer

Requirements and procedure for filing a bounced cheque complaint

Q: I have a cheque of AED 35000 given by a person and it bounced. What is the procedure? I have already complained at the police station. What if I file a case against him? What is the procedure and what are the legal actions to be taken against him?

Liability for bounced cheques in case of joint signatory authority

Q: I was a partner in a company with joint signing authority for the bank account. I sold my share and the memorandum of association changed. However, due to some reasons or busy schedule, I could not change my signing authority from the bank. My partner issued me a letter that for all released cheques, he will be responsible. Now, in the current situation, some cheques are bounced and police called me. Please advise, what should I do? Will this letter and change in memorandum protect me? My partner is still accepting his liabilities for all bounced cheques but he has no money to settle, and I am stuck. Kindly advise.

Refund of money paid for purchasing a beauty salon that never happened

Q: Hi, We are planning to buy a beauty salon and we have given the owner a deposit of AED 20k. After a week he asked for another AED 50k as he has dues that need to be settled with the landlord. He gave us a cheque for AED 50k which bounced because the account has been closed a long time back as per the bank. It’s been 49 days and the transfer is not done yet. Can we file a civil case and ask for moral damage as we lost a lot of money since the business is not operating yet? Can we still get our AED 70k that we had given to him?

Non-competition clause as a restrictive covenant in the employee's contract

Q: Good morning. An American company is working as an advisor for the Dubai government. The company has got employees to sign a non-competition clause document, prohibiting them from working for the same clients for a period of 1 year. Now, employees resigned and might work directly or indirectly with the same clients. The company is threatening to sue the former employees for non-compliance with that clause and make them obtain the company`s legal authorization to do such work. Can you please advise the level of legality and also what is the appropriate next step?

Attestation process of a bachelor's degree to work in the UAE

Q: Do we need to get our bachelor`s degree attested? If so, by whom do we need to get it done? Will the employer do it or take care of this? Please advise. Thank you.