Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Demand of rent without agreement and deposit of security cheque

Q: I was a resident of Sharjah and was staying in a 2 BHK apartment. As I was looking for a furnished apartment on rent for a short span of 6 months only, the landlord denied to make the agreement but verbally decided to accept the rent upfront each month and asked for 1-month rent as security. I objected to giving any security deposit but promised to pay rent at the beginning of each month and gave him a cheque with 1-month rent amount if I don’t make the payment at the beginning of the month but not a security deposit. Due to living with the family, I had to look for another option I moved to a new apartment before the new month started. Now, the landlord is asking for rent for the month in which I’m not going to stay and threatening me to deposit the cheque of AED 1,600/- and get the cheque bounced and take legal action to put me behind the bar. I have paid AED 1,000/- for utility in advance for which bill was generated as AED 640/- only. What are the legal ways to come out of this??

Right of the employee to claim compensation for arbitrary dismissal

Q: Hi, I worked for a bank in the UAE for more than 10 years and on Dec 16, 2018. They gave me a letter of termination mentioning that due to the realignment of operating model, they don`t want to continue my services and the last date of working to be Dec 31, 2018. They also gave the option for me to resign. Since resigning would be a better option to get another job, I decided to submit my resignation and it was accepted and they relieved me by Dec 31, 2018. Later I came to know that the UAE labour law suggests giving one month of notice before termination and 3 months additional compensation in addition to the notice period. I want to claim the amount from my employer. Is it possible? I have the termination letter that they had given me. Please advise. Regards, A.

Calculation of the leave salary entitlements post termination

Q: I have been working for 1 year & 8 months on an unlimited contract basis. I have been made terminated from service (due to low business). I have used only 21 days of leave so far from the 1st year & could not use the rest as the management did not approve the same. When the annual leave is availed, the company pays the employees the basic + allowances in full as per normal salary. But the company policy is silent when it comes to payment of unused leave in the circumstance of termination. They have advised that only basic wage will be paid for unused leave & only for the 2nd year (as the company has no carryover policy). Could you kindly advise what is the correct method of calculation? As per the UAE labour law, in some cases it is mentioned that you can encash up to 2 years leave calculated on basis of basic salary + allowances are to be paid for the unused leave in case of termination. Kind regards, M.

المطالبة بفسخ عقد شراء وحدتين عقاريتين للتأخر بالتسليم

س: تم شراء وحدتين من شركة تطوير عقاري. موعد التسليم شهر 6 - 2019 وإلى الآن لم يتم التسليم. تم التواصل معهم واتضح أن بإمكانهم أو أن القانون يسمح بتأخير لمدة 15 شهر بعد الموعد المتفق عليه في دائرة دبي. أرغب في فسخ البيع. الرجاء إفادتني كيف الطريقة علماً بأن إحدى تلك الوحدتين لم يتم تسجيلها في دائرة الأراضي والأملاك بدبي. شكراً

Entitlements of the employee upon termination for redundancy

Q: My brother was terminated yesterday and the reason is to reduce employees upon instructions from our UK office. He’s with the company for 3.9 years under unlimited contract and given the 30 days notice on 30.05.2019. Is he entitled for 3 months salary compensation as per arbitrary dismissal/termination not related to performance? He was advised verbally about this instruction and he was chosen. We would like to know his full benefits and rights, please. Thank you in advance.

Governing law in contracts with foreign companies

Q: We are a Canadian company, and we want to develop a SW platform in Egypt by a local Egyptian Software Company. Under which jurisdiction of authority should the phrase “Governing Law Clause” in the contract be? Also, should the contract be in Arabic or English? Are we protected by the Egyptian Law or Canadian Law?

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Posting a video online about the public work of somebody

Q: Hello, Is it possible to post a video to YouTube discussing another UAE creator`s content? I do not intend to be disparaging or rude but may poke a bit of fun. Is this legal?

Refund of security deposit from the landlord upon leaving

Q: I moved out of an apartment in Dubai on 19th of April 2019. It is almost three months later and they still have not refunded the balance of the security deposit. I have made repeated requests to get the money back but they are just wasting my time. How can I proceed to get this money back?

How to deal with a case of bounced cheques paid for rent

Q: Dear Mam, I took one-bedroom flat in Sharjah for AED 28000, from June 2017 to May 2018. I paid 3 cheques but the last cheque I was not able to pay and stayed 3 months more. My owner made a complaint to vacate the house in august, so I vacated the house in September and he calculated for 7 months rent and was told to pay 18000. I paid 5000 cash in December and lost my job in February 2019. Now my company tried to cancel my visa, then only I come to know he filed a case. My company submitted my passport to Sharjah police HQ. I want to know what will happen next. Will the police arrest me? What do I need to do? I`m very much struck financially, please help me to solve this. Because of this problem, without knowing I lost one offer also, please guide me on what to do now.

عقوبة الفاعل الأصلي والمتدخل والمحرض في جريمة الشروع بقتل إنسان قصداً

س: السلام عليكم، أرجو الإجابة على سؤالي بأسرع وقت إذا سمحتم. السؤال: حدثت معي أنا وأبناء عمي مشاجرة كبيرة مع أشخاص حاولوا الاعتداء على ابن عمي (عمره 18 عامًا ونصف). قبل المشكلة، أجرى شخص من الطرف الآخر مكالمة مع ابن عمي وقام بتهديده بالضرب بأداة حادة على وجهه، وتهديده بالخطف مما أدى إلى قيام المشكلة. قام ابن عمي الكبير أثناء المشكلة بإطلاق النار على كاحل القدم اليسرى للشخص الآخر، وارتدت إحدى الطلقات في بطن وافد مصري عن طريق الخطأ. وقد نسب المدعي العام إلى ابن عمي الشروع في القتل، وقد نسب إلي أنا وأبناء عمي الآخرين تهمة التحريض والتدخل. السؤال: ما هي الأحكام التي من الممكن أن تصدر ضدنا؟

Immediate resignation without notice and its repercussions in the UAE

Q: Good day, In my situation, I`ve completed 6 years of counting including my joining date. My visa will expire in August but now I want to resign immediately/same day. Can you advise me what I am going to do? Thanks a lot.

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إمكانية إعداد الشيك يدويًا وشروط صحته

س: السلام عليكم، لدي سؤال إذا سمحت. سمعت دكتورًا متخصصًا في أعمال البنوك والمصارف، وقرأت هذا الكلام في عدة كتب في شرح قانون المعاملات التجارية الإماراتي والمتعلق بالبنوك والمصارف، يقول أن الشيك ليس شرطًا أن يكون صادرًا من البنك، وإنما بإمكان شخص عنده حساب في بنك من البنوك أن يصنع شيكًا عبر جهاز الكمبيوتر، ويستوفي شروطه الشكلية، ويكون للشيك رصيد في البنك، ويحرره الساحب صاحب الحساب لشخص آخر ويقدمه حامل الشيك إلى البنك، ويُلزَم البنك بصرف الشيك بما أن الشيك استوفى شروطه الشكلية، حتى ولو كان مكتوبًا على جهاز كمبيوتر شخصي. فهل بإمكان شخص لديه حساب بنكي أن يصنع شيكات ويستوفي شروطها الشكلية ويوقع عليها ويصرفها حاملها من المصرف؟ وهل يُلزَم البنك بصرف الشيك لحامله؟ وفي حالة امتنع المصرف بحجة أن الشيك لم يصدر عنه بدفتر شيكات، فهل يحق لصاحب الحساب وحامل الشيك الاحتجاج على البنك؟

إمكانية المطالبة بمؤخر الطلاق بعد مغادرة الإمارات

س: مرحبا أنا تزوجت في أبو ظبي ولدي عقد زواج إماراتي، وأنا سويدية الجنسية وهو أردني الجنسية والشهود على عقد الزواج ساكنين في أبو ظبي. وبعد اكتشافي أنه مريض منذ الولادة وتم خداعي من الأهل وهدف الزواج الاستغلال من أجل الجنسية وهو يلعب القمار والكثير من الأسباب الشرعية، طلبت الطلاق وتطلقت في السويد برضى الطرفين. لكنني لم أحصل على المؤخر. هل يحق لي المطالبة بالمؤخر وأنا أعيش في بلد آخر وما هي الإجراءات في هذه الحالة؟ أتمنى الرد وشكراً.

حق الزوجة في طلب النفقة إلا إذا كانت ناشزًا فلا نفقة لها

س: هل يحق للزوجة والأبناء طلب مسكن في حالة الخصام وليس الطلاق؟

Sponsor demanding more money to allow company closure

Q: My brother has a contracting company (LLC) made in 2014. Now he doesn`t have money and wants to cancel the company. The local sponsor is a girl (whom my brother never met) dealing on behalf of her husband, he is from Pakistan. As per the MOA, the sponsor is eligible to take sponsorship only for one year (2014). He forcefully took money from my brother for 2015 & 2016 which is not due and requested my brother to issue one visa for his cousin. But later on, my brother knew that he sold the visa for 15k & he again asked him to issue another visa but my brother refused. Since then, that person is making drama, mental torture & ruin his company. He didn`t give a labour card to my brother for an employee to make him an absconder & get cancelled. He even called the employee to make a court case against the company. Now, we called him to come to sign on cancelling the company but he is illegally asking for the remaining years of sponsorship. My brother told him he inquired at the economic dept. and the local is eligible only for one-year sponsorship which is already taken & the money of sold visa will adjust the 15k.

Checking for pending cases against credit card debts

Q: Hi Anitha, I have a credit card outstanding around 25K altogether from 4 bank credit cards. How can I check if I have a legal case or police case on my passport?