Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Inability to get the keys of a co-owned apartment. What to do?

Q: I co-own an apartment in Hanover Square, Dubai but I am unable to obtain the keys for my apartment from the management company as they claim the 2nd owner is supposed to be present for key collection. Unfortunately, the second owner is in Pakistan and with the travel restrictions, he is not able to present himself. I tried getting online POA notarized but failed as I couldn`t get a reply. I fail to understand! I am also one of the owners and we are not selling the property, we just want to have the keys so that we can utilize the apartment. We were promised that the keys would be given to us once we clear Dubai Land dept. dues but still are not able to take the keys. We have tried reaching the real estate agent, management company&developers, no replies from any one of those. Only the real estate claims that both owners should be present to get the key, otherwise, I need to keep waiting. Else, I need to bring a notarized POA. Any solution to this bizarre query? I am tired of moving back and forth from my resident city of Al-Ain.

The legal position of a partner without marriage upon splitting up

Q: Good Morning, My partner of 15 years and I are splitting up. In 2013, we purchased our Dubai apartment. My partner paid for it in full in cash at the time. We lived in it for 6+ months each year. We are both British. My partner is currently applying for UAE residency. He is now refusing me access to the apartment and is packing up my clothes to have them shipped to me. He has also taken me off his UAE will. He’s perfectly entitled to do that, however, please advise what my legal position is regarding the apartment as we are joint owners on the title deed? Many thanks,

How will the property of an unmarried non -Muslim woman be divided after her death?

Q: A family member (non-muslim, ex-pat, female) passed away. She was registered in the UAE and has a UAE working/residency permit, alongside a company registered in the FFZ. It appears there is no will. She has no UAE real estate. She has no children and was never married. She has a living mother and sister, alongside an adopted sister with whom no one has a contact. 1) How will heirs be decided? Using home country law or sharia? Can we choose? How do mother and sister show proof of lineage? 2) Using the inheritance law of our home country, the adopted sibling is seen as a full sibling. It will be a 1/3 division between the three persons stated above. Can a court in UAE overrule this part of home country inheritance (e.g. incompatible with UAE laws) and skip the adopted sibling? 3) Can legal heirs (e.g. mother, full blood-related sister) agree to a different division if heirs are decided? E.g. the sister wants to include her children as heirs. Or does this have to be done after the money transfer?

Is it possible to encash the annual leave balance?

Q: Hi Madam, I have an 80-day annual leave balance in my company. I am still working in the company. As per the UAE labor law, can I encash my leave salary? I requested my company for 60 days leave encashment. The company says that as per the UAE Law, there is no encashment. Is it true? If encashment is available, how to calculate my leave encashment? For my personal issues, I can`t go on vacation. I can`t take local leave also. Please advise me! Best Regards,

The consequences of resigning from an LLC company due salary delay

Q: Hi Ma`am, Good Morning! I am working in an LLC company in Dubai. I signed an unlimited contract in the month of April 2021. Now I am not satisfied with this company and salary pending is the reason to resign. Will there be any consequences if I resign within 6 months? My VISA belongs to the employer and my passport is also with them. Kindly advise! Thanks

مدة إخطار الموظف بعدم الرغبة في تجديد عقده

س: ما المدة اللازمة لإخطار الموظف بعدم رغبة المؤسسة في تجديد عقده؟ وهل يكفي إرسال إيميل أو رسالة نصيه له؟

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How to reach an amicable settlement with an employee upon losing a labor case?

Q: I have an employee who filed a labor case that is in execution. I have tried over the last 2 months to reach an amicable settlement with him on the payment of his settlement. My commitment to him has been based on the commitments I have received from my clients to the company. He initially requested a 25% down payment and 6 PDC checks which I agreed to and he has since rejected that and then demanded 100% of his settlement which he then modified to 50% and 3 PDC checks. I informed him that it would not be possible to pay 50% and 3 PDC checks; the best I could do is 40% and 3 PDC checks as I needed the remaining funds to cover the current employee`s medical insurance, some of them have critical medical conditions requiring monthly medication. He has again rejected that and is demanding a 50% down payment to release the case and the block on the company trade license and bank account. I also have other PDC checks due and with a blocked account, these checks will bounce. The settlement is 291KAED.

فسخ العقد والمطالبة بالتعويض عند إخلال المقاول بالتزاماته

س: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته، لو سمحتم لدي استفسار. عقدي مع مقاول لبناء مصنع خلال ستة أشهر. اشتغل الحفر واشتغل القواعد والدفان فقط ولمدة شهرين يماطل ويشتغل يوم ويتوقف أسبوع علمًا بأنه مستلم دفعتين حسب العقد وباقي شغل من الدفعة الثانية وفي العقد مذكور العمل دون انقطاع. الحين باقي في العقد شهرين فقط ولم ينفِّذ إلا 18% حسب تقرير المكتب الهندسي المشرف المعتمد من هيئة المدن الصناعية وتقرير المكتب الهندسي يوضح بأن الأعمال متوقفة وهناك بعض الأخطاء في العمل المنفَّذ. هل أستطيع فسخ العقد واسترجاع قيمة الدفعة الثانية أم يجب أن أنتظر حتى انتهاء العقد؟ شكرًا لكم!

هل يحق صرف راتب إجازة لموظف وهو يرفض التجديد؟

س: عندي موظف يعمل لدينا منذ سنة وطلب عدم تجديد عقده بخطاب رسمي. هل يحق صرف راتب إجازة وهو يرفض التجديد؟

حق الأخ في معاش أخيه المتوفى

Q: مرحبًا، يوم سعيد! أردت أن أسأل عن القوانين المنصوص عليها بخصوص معاش الأخ المتوفى. أريد المطالبة بحقوقي كأخ.

Is it possible for a UAE court to oppose a judgment issued by a foreign country?

Q: My ex-wife and I are of the same nationality, non-Muslims. We were married at home country and were divorced back home in Feb 2021. The court back home granted custody to me. The children are 16 and 9 - all living with me in the UAE. They all go to school here in the UAE. However, she refused to go back home and now is an illegal alien living here in the UAE with an expired tourist visa with overstay fines of more than 6000 dhs. She just hired a lawyer here in the UAE to try to take back the custody. Can she do that? Or to be precise, can the UAE court meddle with the court decree of the home country?

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Is it allowed to be represented by a lawyer before the small claims tribunal judge?

Q: Dear lawyer(s), I have a case against me in the DIFC small claims tribunal. Am I allowed to be represented by a lawyer before the small claims tribunal judge? I know I can have assistance in preparing any defense, but can I be represented by a lawyer? If not, is it possible to submit permission before the court and ask for a lawyer`s representation? Thank you in advance!

What happens if an employer doesn't cancel the employment visa when the employee is abroad?

Q: Hi, I would like to share my query to find the relevant answer. Currently, I am out of the country (UAE). My employer terminated me from employment and my visa would be expiring in October 2021. What happens if my employer doesn`t cancel my employment visa and it automatically expires or gets canceled in October 2021? Do I get the end-of-service benefits? Please advise!

Salary delay as a reason for filing a labor case and joining a new employer

Q: Hi, I am employed in Abu Dhabi. My employer owes me 2.5 months of salary as he didn`t pay me on time. I have a job offer from another employer wherein I have to join immediately. They will apply for my new visa. If I request to cancel my current visa and get a new visa from the new employer, can I still sue my previous employer after 1 or 2 months? Could you please tell me my options in this? I have to obtain a new visa from the employer and some international travel requirements are there in my employment.

A client refuses to pay the brokerages fees

Q: I am a real estate agent. Recently, one of my clients viewed a floor on my behalf. He came through my advertisement and I arranged his viewing. After viewing, he took a complete floor directly from management. He denied paying my brokerage fees. I am an agent who makes viewing on the 7th floor in the building and the building security knows very well that no one came before for this floor. After 4 days, my client closed the deal directly because there is a number mentioned in the management at the building security reception. When I called the management to inform him, he is a key client, one of them replayed: "sorry, we can’t do anything for skipping the agency fees". I need legal advice on how to take legal action. Please help!

Falsely accusing employees of theft after filing labor cases against him

Q: Good day, I was hoping to get legal advice regarding my situation. Three of us in the company filed a labor complaint against the employer due to delayed and incomplete salary since May of 2020. The labor called our employer and agrees to settle our due within 10 days, however after that conversation, our boss sent us messages falsely accusing us of theft. He said that he has evidence but we are sure that this is just a threat as we didn`t do anything wrong. On the day of settlement, as he promised, he never gave us anything, instead, he harassed us to sign the cancellation without getting our balance and threatened us that we will go to jail if we refuse. We know that this is what will happen because he did the same thing to other ex-employees who complained and those who ended contracts with him not getting anything because of that wrongful accusation. What should we do next? Shall we inform the labor regarding this or just file a case for defamation regarding his false allegation?