Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Employer's request to sign a clearance letter for unpaid dues upon termination

Q: I was a Project Manager for a company. After 9 years of my service, the company has terminated my services for the last 45 days (Because work is less & they want to downsize the staff strength). I don`t mind going back to my country, but they are expecting me to sign an Arabic letter stating that all my dues are paid, for the closure of my visa which is getting over on 07.10.2017. Since the financial condition of the company is not good, they are not in a position to settle my gratuity & other benefits. They are not giving any clear-cut date on which they will settle my dues. My worry is that once I sign the Arabic letter & my visa is cancelled, I cannot continue in the UAE beyond 28 days after visa cancellation. I don`t want to go against the company to pursue legal step, but at the same time, I am worried about my dues that I may be denied once I sign the Arabic letter & I am out of the UAE. Please advise what I have to do?

Right to accept a new job offer after accepting and signing the one before

Q: Hello, I am in Dubai and I have got a labour offer letter from a new employer (XYZ). In the interim of cancelling the current employment visa, I have got another offer with a good raise in salary from (ABC). Now, is it mandatory that I have to join the company from which I have got labour offer letter and we have signed, or can I go ahead with the 2nd offer which has been made to me?

The criminal and civil proceedings of a bounced cheque case

Q: I filed a police case against an individual who borrowed money from me. I have both his personal cheques and company cheques for the amount. He got a fine and was released from custody in a criminal case. Can I add his other company cheques that also bounced in the same case? Also, will he get a prison sentence if I file a complaint on his personal cheques?

Early resignation in a limited contract and absconding to country

Q: A person e-mails his resignation and leaves for his country from Dubai a year before his 2-year contract ends, without paying the penalty and visa charges as written in the contract. Would he be considered an absconder? Would he have to face a lifetime ban?

Bounced cheque consequences when the amount of debt is large

Q: What are the chances of an individual getting a jail time in a criminal case for bounced cheques totalling up to AED 1.5 million? Kindly reply ASAP.

Retrieving the passport while a labor case is running

Q: Sir, I want to go back my country. I have a case in the labour court for retrieving my passport, original degree and salary. But I can`t wait.

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I got a job offer but was asked to pay visa costs. Is this legal?

Q: I got a job offer from one UAE company but I have to pay visa fees as a security which they will return after six months. They will provide me employment offer letter and at the same time I need to pay them visa fees. I am a bit confused that the offer letter is a legally binding document to claim in future if they will not provide me the job. Kindly help me to solve my problem. I am on a visit visa in Dubai.

Case checking procedures and fees

Q: How much does it cost to get the complete case details registered with the Dubai Police and Court? Does it require Power of Attorney to get the case details?

Early termination of lease agreement to a commercial property

Q: Back in April, I had signed for an office space in order to start registering my business. However, due to my investor backing out immediately afterwards, I had to halt my plans and cancel the office space. However, the office space management refused to cancel the lease as the contract has a clause stating that in the event of cancellation of the contract, I am still liable to pay the entire amount of the rent, regardless of not having used the office space at all. They continued to make invoices and are threatening with legal action if I do not pay. I would like some advice on how to handle this situation as I do not have the funds necessary to pay off an office space for one year. I feel it is unfair that they should force me to pay for an office I have not used nor planned on using, having informed them of this within a month of the contract being signed.

How to retrieve your passport from the employer after stamping visa

Q: I got a job in Dubai and my employer asked me to submit the passport for visa stamping. After stamping the visa on my passport, I asked my employer to give me the passport back but he refused. Kindly guide me, what can I do? One more thing. They have written in the offer letter that if I resign from the job, I will have to pay all the visa cost. Kindly guide me also regarding this, as I have already signed that offer letter.

Legal assistance in the execution of a real estate case

Q: I have a real estate related case in the execution phase, between myself & a real estate developer. The last update I had about my case, about 10 months ago, was trying to cease/ locate assets from the developer. The law firm that was handling my case closed down and I have not had updates on my case as the law firm does not exist anymore. I am currently looking for a lawyer/ law firm who would be able to take on my case to follow up and update me until the closure of the case & supporting in closing related issues with the bank which I have a mortgage with. Looking forward to hearing your proposals on how to proceed.

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Unlawful dismissal after employee's complaint to MOL

Q: Hi, My salary was pending for 4 months. I complained to the Labor Ministry in July. Immediately after my complaint, the employer put me out of office after taking all passwords and keys from me. When Labor Ministry called, they agreed to the legal advisor that they will settle me within 1week. But they didn`t do anything and after two weeks I complained again and they agreed to pay my salaries weekly and settle me within 37 days. Still, they didn`t do anything. Also they are illegally keeping my Ministry of Health license and doing business on behalf of it in my absence which is not allowed. Now when I call they are not answering or abusing, accusing, threatening to move legally against me of things which I have no control of now. How to get my cancellation and settlement immediately? Isn`t there any time limit for delaying even after agreeing and signing to the Ministry of Labor? Each time they are just buying time and not doing anything at all. If I approach, will there be any expense to move to the court?

Can I swap my annual leaves for notice period?

Q: Can I trade my annual leaves with notice period under unlimited contract?

Is the undocumented salary increment a part of the basic salary or allowances?

Q: I am currently employed by an engineering company since the beginning of 2014, and I have received termination notice in mid-2017 (+3 years service). The initial full salary with the housing and transportation allowances was AED 20,000.00 and I have the breakdown of the allowances (basic salary, housing and transportation). It was then raised to AED 30,000.00 in 2015 and the employer simply started to transfer the amount of AED 30,000.00 to my bank account without giving me any revised contract with the new payroll breakdown of the allowances. Also, the employer never updated the Labor contract with the revised salary of 30,000.00 AED leaving the gratuity computation now open to many ambiguities. I have filed a complaint with the Ministry of Labour to seek advice on my rights. What would be the best approach to determine the basic salary, housing and transportation from the AED 30,000.00 salary, as this information is now omissive?

Should I pay two-month rent penalty in case of early termination of my tenancy?

Q: Hi. I am a tenant and gave notice to my landlord on 3rd July 2017. The contract was for 12 months starting March 2017 but had the following provisions: "The Parties agree that there may be instances where the Tenant shall need to terminate the lease early, and in accordance with current guidelines the Tenant will give a two-month notice and two-month rent penalty in the case of immediate vacation." The landlord did not come to the pre-agreed date of vacating the premises on the 7th of September because I refused to pay him the two-month penalty, although I had already given him over 2 months notice. He is saying I have to pay him the additional 2 months even though I read it as only payable if I vacated immediately.

Termination of employment under Article 120 of UAE Labour Law

Q: Does article 120 of Labor Law in case of termination by employer cover the following situation: An employee went on an emergency leave due to his Mother`s hospitalization and after 45 days she passed away. When he came back to Dubai, his employer refused to pay the final settlement and forced him for cancellation.