Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Salary reduction and end of service benefits calculation

Q: I have been working with a private company for 2 years and 10 months on an unlimited contract. Three months ago my employer cut Dh 3000 from our salaries and later asked us to sign a letter saying that we accept a deduction until the company`s financial condition improves. There has been no change in the contract though. My employer also increased our working hour by 30 minutes every day, for which we were sent an email. My questions are: 1. If I leave the company, can I claim the salary which has been deducted back? 2. Will my final dues be calculated based on the salary mentioned in my contract or the reduced salary? 3. Can I ask for overtime for the increased hours? It is mentioned in my contract that overtime will not be paid. ***

Legal way to exit the UAE with a bank loan

Q: How to legally exit the UAE with an unpaid loan?

Who should pay district cooling charges: landlord or tenant?

Q: My landlord has requested the A/C company to bill the district charges to me. I have lived in the apartment for the past 2 years. Last week I received a bill with backdated charges since October 2016. My contract states I am responsible for water and electricity and does not mention A/C. I have paid for the usage of all the utility bills since moving in there. Who is responsible for the district cooling charges, and if it is the landlord, how can I stop the A/C company from billing me?

Consequences of leaving the UAE without proper cancellation of employment visa

Q: I was with a company in Dubai for 22 days, due to a family emergency I left home and paid compensation as in the work contract (45 days salary was the compensation). After 6 months of exit, I started requesting the company to cancel my visa and Emirates ID, but they are ignoring it. They want me not to come to the UAE again. Can you guide me on this?

What can I do about my salary delay?

Q: I am having a delay of my salary for 25 days in the past 3 months. Is there anything that I can do about that?

Automatic cancellation of UAE residence visas

Q: I joined a Co LLC, Fujairah in Sep’13 and signed 3 yrs contract. As per my contract letter, my notice period was 3 months. I resigned on 8th Aug’15 but the company rejected my resignation and forced me to complete the contract. The company also started threatening me so somehow I served the notice period of 3 months and managed to escape from there. Now the company is not giving me my 22 days Nov’15 & leave salary of 19 days & Bonus pending till March’15, and also is not cancelling my visa. I already contacted the Indian embassy but they failed to resolve the issue. Can I come again to the UAE and can I do the job or cancellation is compulsory?

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Can the employer force me to take my annual leave during the notice period?

Q: Hi, Can an employer force an employee to take any remaining annual leave days during their notice period, if they prefer not to pay cash?

Getting a refund from an immigration consultant

Q: I had signed up with an immigration consultant for immigration to Canada. According to the contract I would be refunded the full amount if my application did not get through in a year. I had asked for a refund and they have only approved 2560/- out of around Dhs 9500/-. I need help to resolve this issue. Thanks.

'Inheritance' scam

Q: Looking for help and suggestions. My fiancé inherited 5 million. The trustee/bank has received the Ok from the court to disburse the funds. When we tried we learned we had to pay $2500 for the COT Fees. With the bank`s help, we tried to transfer the funds. We learned we needed and we have gotten an anti-money laundering certificate for $3500. Then with the help of the bank and attempting to transfer we found out we needed tax forms for my fiancé. We applied and paid $8300 for those forms. Then we attempted again with the bank and the Central Bank held it up and now we need 18k for anti-terrorism certificate. We are out of funds for this last certificate and are in need of help and advice. Are there any companies out there willing to assist? The bank should have known upfront of all this in my opinion and not be like `Oh yeah, you have to do this also`. I have spent almost 15k and now the Central Bank wants 18K. PLEASE HELP!

Security cheque in property rental matters

Q: Good Afternoon...... Can I write "Security Cheque" on the face of the Cheque? What legal protection does it give me from the landlord or from the bank? Will the bank honour the security cheque across the counter or when it presented in clearing?

Debt collection by outside agencies

Q: I am in Africa, and I left Dubai before settling my loan. I am being contacted by an independent debt collector. I am outside the UAE, what are my options if I ignore the debt collector? How can I get a clearance certificate from the bank & police?

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Non-competition agreement and its enforcement in the UAE

Q: Hi, I`m Sanu from Abu Dhabi, my job is medical coding. I need a clarification regarding joining the client of my employer. I have completed 3 years with my current employer (Billing Services DMCC, Dubai). My 3-year contract was expired and cancelled. Now one of my previous employer clients (a government hospital) is approaching me to join with them. I have already signed a non-competition agreement which has a clause - I cannot join my employer own client for 2 years. Please note, currently, the contract between my previous employer and this government hospital has been cancelled. Please advise is there any exception that I can join with own client as it is government sector? Is there a chance my previous employer can make a case against me? If they raise a case then how to survive?

Resignation settlement paper

Q: My visa cancellation paper signed but after cancellation the company is showing another settlement and also they don`t give me the settlement paper. I don`t have any document. What to do? Advise me.

I am blacklisted in the UAE. What can I do to lift the immigration ban?

Q: Good Day! I would like to seek your help for me to lift my name from the blacklist in Dubai. I actually don`t have an idea what is the case, I only found out when I applied for a visa to Dubai but the security replied that my name is in the blacklisted names in Dubai. I was in Abudhabi last time in 2004 after almost 2 years of working there. I didn`t finish my contract for some few months more. I don`t have any bank loans, I owe someone 800 Dhs only and that`s it. Never had any criminal records or something like that. Could you please give advice for such case on what to do or a possibility of lifting my name from the blacklist. It would be a big help for me. Please let me know what is the process, or if you can refer to me anyone who can help me with this. Thanks, Raine

Is the offer letter from a new employer necessary to cancel my current visa?

Q: My recent employer was asking for a copy of the offer letter I received from my new employer to proceed with my visa cancellation. Is it mandatory to do so? Thank you.

Can I claim my end of service benefits after signing the resignation settlement?

Q: Hi Sir, I worked for a travel agency for 3years, as accounting manager; when wanted to come back to my home country I resigned from my job in July 2017. My employer didn’t pay my dues and didn`t make any final settlement amount. Being trusting the manager I signed the end of services form for visa cancellation. He promised me to make the payment once the visa is cancelled, but after cancellation, he started harassing me saying I have manipulated his accounts and stole his money and tortured me. Finally, he made me sign a document that I have adjusted amount which was approx 50,000 Dhs, for my mistakes in white paper and gave my passport and I left Dubai in July. I have 1 loan of 30,000 and 10,000 credit with banks, who are after me to make the payment. Is there anything I can do to get my money? Pls, help me I want to clear my dues in Dubai. Thanks in advance. Regards, Sk