Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Expected legal penalty in drug cases

Q: My brother friend had been caught by CID whilst smoking marijuana and had marijuana in his possession. He told CID that my brother gave him. My brother was called downstairs from his office by his friend. When he came down, CID questioned him, beat him and searched him. They did not find anything on my brother nor in his car. Both my brother and his friend were registered under the same case number and taken to Bur Dubai police station. They had a drug test which was positive. They`ve been shifted to central Al Awir jail 1 month ago. My brother denied everything in the 1st & 2nd hearings in Neyaba (Public Prosecution). Now, they have charged my brother with facilitation of drugs to others and using drugs. They have now referred my brother case to Abu Dhabi, but his friend who was found with drugs is in Dubai court and has a small charge of using only. My brother is a 29-year-old engineer who spent his whole life in the UAE and has no police case on him ever before. What will happen now? Will they only deport him or will they punish him?

Consequences of resigning from a limited labour contract

Q: Good evening, Can I terminate my limited contract within the probation period? My visa status is a cleaning worker, but actually working as an admin assistant. If I resign from my limited contract, then should I give a notice period or not? Please let me know. Thank you

How to report cyber crimes online?

Q: We are Indian couples staying in Dammam, Saudi Arabia 12 years ago. My wife is being mentally harassed and depressed through an incident that is very shameful and degrading. The husband of my wife`s younger sister who is presently working in Dubai tries to abuse, harass and blackmail my wife by sending vulgar, unwanted, and messages to degrade her and also abuses her. She is in mental pressure and tries to commit suicide at this time. She is an Islamic scholar and have a very happy life, but this man is going beyond the limit. There are lots to be discussed, please help in this regard to teach this man a lesson.

What to expect when you fail to pay credit card dues

Q: Hi, I have a credit card loan and credit card debt with an amount of AED 26000. Unfortunately, I`m not in a situation to fulfil the payment for the last 3 months. How can I deal with this legally? If I avoid paying the debs, what will be the consequences? The bank is not being flexible on this. Z.

Execution filed in divorce proceedings for maintenance

Q: Hi Hari, I have just gone through a divorce and my ex-wife has filed for execution. The document received from the court states to pay accommodation money full in advance, is this normal? She forwarded me the document and I haven`t received anything directly from the court. I have only been informed prior to two days before the execution date. Which leaves me without any option as the letter states failure to pay court can take legal action. The document only speaks about one-time payment and does not include any monthly payments that need to be made for children`s maintenance, electricity bill or school fees. My next question is that if she takes the full amount of accommodation money and stays with her family, is that legal? As it impacts the quality of life of my children plus the amount ordered by the court for accommodation is used for personal enjoyment or expenses. What legal options I do have? Regards, M.

Joining a new employer while there are complaints against the previous employer

Q: Hello, My spouse joined the current company under a DWC visa (unlimited) on 11/6/19. He resigned on 29/8/19 and served a notice period of 40 days (his contract says 60). Since then, he has not been paid for AUG, SEPT-OCT (8 days). The probation period is 6 months. He is holding a new offer. The current employer is not paying dues and is saying that he will ban my spouse. Please advise the best way to solve this and join the new employer. Can he join the new office if the process is under complaints in DWC labor?

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The legal implications of withdrawing from a job offer

Q: Hi Mr Hari, I have confusion over my decision after accepting one job offer from a company in Abu Dhabi. I accepted it and signed the initial offer letter on 14th Sept. Then I resigned and currently serving the notice period. At the same time, now after working unofficially with a new company (A) for few days, I came to know that the new company (A) is not matching my profile and the project I am hired for is delayed. I have a company (B) offering a job and wants to discuss the offer and joining date, company (B) is better for me. I went through all the T&Cs mentioned and signed a contract. It is mentioned that "Unlimited Period: Either party may terminate the contract by giving a 30-day written notice to the other". I am still serving the notice period and I want to apologize and turn down the offer from the company (A). Is it ethical? Is it possible to make such a decision as I am sure I am not going to enjoy my work in the company (A)? Can the company (A) make any legal problem for me? Kindly advise. Regards, D.

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!

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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.

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.