Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Non-compete clause and new employment

Q: In my letter of intent one clause mentioned that I cannot work for the competitor for next one year. I worked from 2014 till 2016. But the company did not sign the new contract. The contract is for two years, the first contract expired in March 2014. I need to ask if my previous company can make a problem for me if I join any competitor. Please advise.

How to check if there are any open cases against the person in the UAE

Q: Hi, My friend owns a business in Dubai but four months ago he left to Pakistan due to an urgent matter. Now he wants to come back here but he had some unsettled matters here and he just wants to confirm if there is any legal case or complaint registered against his name. Just to avoid any surprises on arrival in UAE like being detained at the airport etc. He wants to be prepared.

Personal guarantee and liability for debts

Q: 1. Can a non-resident person give a personal guarantee for bank debt in the UAE? 2. Is a son liable for a debt of his father?

Can I be caught in GCC countries for my UAE bank debts?

Q: I have a loan with UAE bank: 1 credit card outstanding value is 22,000 AED & one personal loan around 85,000 AED. I lost my job on Jun 2016. From there I unable to pay my EMI (6 months). Bank is not agreeing for settlement plan as per my request. Now they are saying they are going to file a case.Now my doubt, if I get a job in GCC other than UAE, will police catch me in the airport in any GCC? OR arrest is possible only if they file a case in that particular country?Please, advise.

Refund of security deposit upon tenancy termination

Q: Good Day, I would like to know, unfortunately, I had to cancel my tenancy contract before the expiry date, now my penalty was 2-month rent, which I accepted, but it then came to my knowledge that there was already new tenants lined up to move in 2 days after I have vacated. They also want to give me back 200 AED of 3000 AED deposit, for damages which were already there when I moved in and notified them about, but the person I dealt with, is no longer with them, and they "can`t find" the email I have sent to them. What is the best way to go about this? I feel like they are completely taking advantage.

Final settlement upon termination of employment

Q: When I resign, my company will give me a written agreement to pay me on a monthly basis until paid up. My concern is that what grounds will I have to stand on should they fail to honour their agreement and I am not in the UAE anymore. I am at the age where alternative employment is difficult if not impossible here or back home. Their promise is all I will have to survive on should I leave. The company owes me outstanding salary since last year and together with the gratuity is in excess of 300,000. I know they will offer to pay me monthly instalments of 8000/month. Should I register a case with the Labour Department although they will give me a written agreement and before they cancel my Labour Card? Thank you kindly.

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How to renew your tenancy if you can't reach the landlord

Q: I rent an apartment in Dubai Marina and its time for tenancy renewal, but I can’t reach my landlord for three months already. What can I do in this situation?

Crowd funding in the UAE

Q: I am a college student in the UAE. I have been thinking about developing a free-to-play video game that will be freely distributed on the internet, anonymously. I have also thought about following many such creators` paths in opening an account at Patreon.com to accept crowdfunding and donations.What legal ramifications could such actions have?

Employment termination & Cancellation of residence visas

Q: I was recently terminated from work. My employment contract with the company, signed in March 2012, states clearly: on the resignation date of your employment, the employee shall remain under the work and residency visa of the company for a period of 3 months effective from the date of resignation or termination. However, the company informed me that the recent changes to the law in the UAE since my contract was signed states that cancellation of employment visa and residency should be done within one month and that those changes supersede the wording in my contract. Is this true? Or the wording in my contract is still valid? Please advise.

Liquidation of a company in Ajman Free Zone

Q: Dear Sir/ Madam, I am a 50% shareholder in an Ajman Free Zone Company. I would like to cancel the licence and close the company as it`s contracts have expired. The company has no outstanding debts and owes no money to any third parties. However, it does have some small internal loans taken by directors. In this instance, can the company be closed if an arrangement between directors is agreed to and formally documented?

Residential tenancy disputes

Q: My landlord is requesting me to leave the apartment at the end of tenancy period which is in 3 months. He hasn`t requested this formally, I mean he only sent an email. Can this be counted? I do not want to leave as I know the reason he wants me to evict is that he wants to increase the rent on the new tenant since I have been for quite some time.

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Breach of tenant's privacy

Q: (If) I took a picture of my tenant`s living room and posted it on a property website to rent the property, as we`ve agreed with the tenant that he vacates the property at the end of the year. Then he found out about the advertisement on the property website in the remaining 3 months before the end of the contract (we have posted the advertisement with the picture of the living room) and informed me to remove it from the website. I removed it immediately, but he has printed out the advertisement with his living room pictures.Now he is saying that if I made any issues to him as a tenant or deny his demands or do not renew his contract or increase the rent he will file a case in the police for the privacy breach. Please note that this was not intentional and it was a mistake without knowing the laws about these things.Q: How long does a person have the time to file for a privacy breach until it`s considered invalid or it`s long overdue or something similar? Kindly advice. Thank you.

Employment termination notice

Q: In a meeting with my boss, I was informed that my employment with the company will end on the 4th of December, one week later I received the termination letter together with my end of service benefits statement.My question is which date will be legally considered for my end of employment? The date of the verbal notification or the date of receiving the written notification?

Arbitrary termination of a labor contract

Q: My 2-year limited term contract in Dubai was terminated after 4 months due to my company downsizing; am I entitled to "without cause" termination compensation as per Federal Labour Law article 115? My former employer says "no" as they had not managed to finalise my work visa, however, I cannot see that this is relevant as there was a UAE employment contract in place.

Bounced cheque

Q: I wrote a check for AED 400, the check bounced. They sent a letter saying if it was not paid in 10 days they would follow through with legal proceedings. It has been 21 days, I am paying it today. They turned it over to the police to serve me but they have not served me yet.I did not realize the letter they sent cause I was out of town. Came home to this. What will happen?

Responsibilities of a landlord

Q: Earlier on this year one of the 25 foot Palm Trees in my garden was blown down in the high winds, luckily this Palm Tree did not hit the house or do any major damage. The reason for the tree blowing down was that the inside trunk had been eaten away by some kind of insects.At the time I raised my concern to the landlord that the other palm trees could be infected as well. A few weeks ago, I got the Palm Trees cleaned and one of the other trees has had half the trunk eaten away by insects. Now this tree could also potentially fall down in high winds.I have asked the Landlord if he could arrange for taking this tree down and remove it, but he says this is covered under garden maintenance and it is my responsibility.I must admit I was quite surprised that the Landlord took this attitude, as the tree could potentially fall on his property or the neighbours!Please let me know in cases for removals of trees from the garden, who is responsible for this, the Landlord or the tenant?