Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Claim for the return of money paid to a rental agency

Q: Hi Ma`am, An agency that doesn`t have a license for doing leasing/ property rental business (I came to know this today) has taken my money for providing me 6 months accommodation in a hotel apartment. They did not provide me with the accommodation and after a lot of efforts, I was able to get my partial money back. But the agency is not refunding my remaining amount and they are not opening their office nor responding to my call (they have blocked my number and don`t respond to any new number). Can I file a case in the rental dispute centre and also claim compensation for all the trouble me and my family went through and the expenses incurred? They took AED 2000 cash, a cheque of AED 12500 dated 2nd may (which they used) and another cheque of AED 12500. After the police called them, they returned my 2nd unused cheque and AED 7000 in cash. I have AED 7500 refund pending. Kindly suggest. Thanks, S.

Governing law of hotel apartments in Dubai

Q: Hi Madam, An agency has taken my money for providing me with 6 months of accommodation in a hotel apartment. They did not provide me with the accommodation and after a lot of efforts, I am able to get my partial money back. But the agency is not refunding my remaining amount and they are not opening their office nor responding to my call (they have blocked my number and don`t respond to any new number). Can I file a case in the rental dispute centre and also claim compensation for all the trouble me and my family went through and the expenses incurred? They took AED 2000 cash, a cheque of AED 12500 dated 2nd may (which they used) and another cheque of AED 12500. After police called them, they returned my 2nd unused cheque and AED 7000 in cash. I have AED 7500 refund pending. Kindly suggest. Thanks, S.

When does the salary change after an internal position change?

Q: I am a fresh graduate who has been a full-time intern with a company that only covers transportation for over a year while completing my studies. I graduated this May. In March of this year, they offered me a full-time employment contract since I was now near completion of my degree. They still kept me on the internship allowance (AED 1000) until I submit all documents for visa processing. I have submitted all my documents for processing towards the end of May. My grace period after cancellation has also expired on the 25th of June. They are still paying me the internship allowance. Now that the visa is pending on their side, shouldn`t they be paying me the full salary? I also think they should have paid me the full salary once I signed the contract regardless of the visa status since I was already working for them. Please let me know whether I should push the company to pay my full salary since the time I signed the contract (March) or only since this month (visa pending on their side)?

Counterclaim against two companies owned by the same owner

Q: I write to you from the UK. There are two corporate companies owned by the same owner and operating in the same territory; one of them is a property company, the second is a financial services company. The first one has defaulted on a transaction with me for £700,000. This amount has remained outstanding for the last 10 years and is a proven debt. The second company is making a claim against me for £53,000 and starts bankruptcy action against me. Does Sharia / Dubai law permit me to make a counterclaim against the second company because of the outstanding debt (£700,000) that the first one owes me? The transactions between both were separate transactions. Does Sharia Law permit a “set-off"? In law, set-off is a legal technique applied between persons with mutual rights and liabilities. It permits the rights to be used to discharge the liabilities where cross-claims exist between two parties.

Obligation to pay employment visa expenses to the employer

Q: Hi, My employer is asking me to pay for visa status change cost (AED 572) and entering country expenses (AED 670) from my salary. As per the offer letter, the visa cost and Emirati ID expenses will be borne by the company. Do I need to pay this amount?

أثر ترك العمل في الإمارات بدون إلغاء قانوني على العمل في الخليج

س: غادر صديق لى دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة قبل 6 أشهر من انتهاء الإقامة نتيجة لاضطهاد صاحب العمل له والسكن الغير آدمي بالورشة. ولعدم معرفة بالقوانين، غادر دون الرجوع لصاحب العمل وطلب منى أن أستفسر له خشية أن يتم اتخاذ ضده شيء يؤذيه أو تعميم وهروب واتهامات بسرقة، مع العلم أن مكان العمل فيه كاميرات مراقبة. هل يمكن لصاحب العمل أن يهدده ويسبب له مشاكل تحرمه من دخول دول الخليج؟

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Termination due to redundancy and settlement of dues

Q: Hi, I am on engineer visa with a 2-year limited term contract from 24-Dec-2017 up to 23-Dec-2019 with my company. The last 2-Jun-2019, my company sent me a 1-month termination notice due to redundancy. Now, I received my settlement computation showing my final salary, gratuity and leave entitlement only. They want me to sign my cancellation of the work permit stating that I received this settlement. My doubt is, am I not entitled to the 3-month compensation due to early contract termination? Does this termination due to redundancy exempt my company from paying me this settlement? I hope you could help me confirm this issue. Thank you.

Getting criminal records of the husband for a custody case

Q: Good afternoon! My name is P. and I am a lawyer in Brazil. Currently, I am working on a case of custody of a child and I represent her mother. We have reasons to suspect that her father is not a good guardian because he was once detained for possession of drugs at the Dubai airport. Unfortunately, the only evidence I have of this is a testimonial, so I wonder if I can get some sort of document proving the detention of someone by the federal police or any other authority in Dubai. Could you help me? Sincerely, P.

تبعات تخلف المستأجر عن إخطار عدم تجديد العقد قبل انقضائه

س: انتهى عقد مستأجر لمحل تجاري يقع بعجمان في 31/05/2019. لم يجدد العقد حتى الآن وطلبت منه أن يجدد العقد لكنه رفض وقال أنه سيُخلي المحل خلال فترة قصيرة، قلت له ستدفع الإيجار عن المدة الإضافية لكنه رفض. ما العمل؟ وهل يحق لي إجباره على الدفع؟

طلب إعادة المحاكمة بسبب ظهور أوراق منتجة في الدعوى كانت مكتومة

س: في عام ٢٠٠٨ أعطاني شخص (أ) شيكًا لتسليمه لشركة استثمارية، ثم عاد في عام ٢٠١٦ ورفع دعوى حقوقية بأنني لم أقم بتسليم الشيك للشركة كما هو متفق عليه، وإنما قمت بتجيير الشيك لشخص آخر (ب) كما تثبت مستندات البنك المركزي. تم إبلاغي بالقضية وقصرّت في الدفاع عن نفسي، وتم الحكم لصالحه والمصادقة على الحكم. قمت بعرض تسوية ودفعت ربع المبلغ وقمت بتقسيط الباقي. (ب) هو نفسه صاحب الشركة الاستثمارية التي طلب مني (أ) تسليم الشيك لها وهو مستعد للشهادة بأنني سلمت الشيك للشركة مع إحضار سندات القبض والعقود الصادرة عن الشركة والتي تثبت استلامها للشيك. كما أن (ب) مستعد للشهادة بأن (أ) تواصل مع الشركة ومعه وأن (أ) يعلم أن الشيك تم تسليمه للشركة، فهل أستطيع إيقاف السداد في القضية؟ وما هي الحلول الأخرى التى من الممكن اللجوء إليها للضغط على (أ)؟

شروط إنهاء عقد عمل غير محدد المدة

س: ما النص القانوني الذي يُجيز لصاحب العمل (شركة بترول وطنية) إنهاء عقد عمل غير محدد المدة لعامل (موظف مباشر)؟ وما شروط صحة إنهاء العقد؟ وهل هناك طريقة للعامل أو الموظف لتجاوز ورفض هذا الاجراء؟

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The procedures of divorce and rights of wife and child

Q: Hello I need to ask that if a non-Emirati wife seeks a divorce from an Emirati husband, what would be her rights? The husband always threatens her with divorce and wants to be treated as a God. He is always bragging about what he pays for the electricity, house maintenance, water...etc, which is her basic right, and they have a daughter who is 3 years old. So she’s sick of all these threats and unhealthy relationship. He tells her if he divorces her, she will be in a very bad situation. So kindly tell me and guide me what is the law here and what are her rights if she filed for divorce. She’s not working, she’s a housewife and non-local. Married for 5 years only.

Arbitrary dismissal and entitlements after being made redundant

Q: Hi, I will be grateful to you if you could advise me on the following: I have been working for an international company for about 12 years. Due to a recent restructure, I was made redundant. My questions are: 1. Will this redundancy be considered an arbitrary dismissal? If so, will I be compensated based on my full salary, or the basic? 2. I have not taken my annual leaves for many years. Can I be compensated for the days I did not take in the past 12 years? Your kind response will be highly appreciated.

Calculation of gratuity upon resignation in a limited contract

Q: I have completed my first two-year limited contract and renewed for another two years. If I resign after completing a year of the second contract, after a total of three years of service, how would my gratuity be calculated?

Can I pay the court order in installments?

Q: Hi The labour court of the first instance has asked to pay my employee AED 12000. Can I ask them to pay in 3 instalments?

The impact of a company shareholder on closure decision by majority

Q: Hi, I am a partner of a Dubai based (mainland) company. Due to the financial restraints, the investor (shareholder) has decided to close the company. Now, I want to know if they can do this without my consent as the sponsor 51% and partner 26% have decided this. My share is 24%.