Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Forcing employees to sign a non-competition agreement upon resignation

Q: Hi, I have been working in a free zone company for almost four years now. For the last six months, my salary was very irregular and I am receiving it around 25th of the next month. My issue is that I have decided to resign and move to another company. However, I heard that my company is now asking all the employees who are resigning to sign a non-competition document. This document states that we shall not work with any competitor for three years, even though this clause is not mentioned in my employment contract. Since I am working in a technical company and with my experience, I will only be able to find another job with a company which will be in one way or another a competitor. Is this legal? Can the company force me to sign the non-competition document? What will I do if they refuse to give my salary, end of service benefits and experience letter when I resign?

Fees, process and time needed for copyright registration in the UAE

Q: Hi, I would like to register my jewellery design in the UAE. Please advise on fees, process and time needed. Thanks.

Travel ban check before passing through Dubai Airport transit

Q: Hi there. I planned to travel and go through Dubai Airport transit. How can I check if there is any travel ban and/ or case against me before travelling? Many thanks.

Obtaining a business license for tax consultancy in the UAE

Q: We are a branch of Chartered Accountant firm from India and we provide tax services to NRIs in the UAE. We are currently holding Businessmen Services License, but legally, the activities we are doing are not under the purview of this license. Hence, we would need advice on which license we should hold in order to provide tax consultancy in the UAE.

Denying the authorship of a letter by the university professor

Q: I have a problem with a letter that was provided to me at a University, and now the professor denies authorship. I have however email exchanges amongst the two of us that refer directly to the document.

How to know if a job offer is real or scam?

Q: Hey there. A company called A VISUAL DESIGN LLC wants me for a job, but they said that the new international artists working remotely from outside the UAE are not yet processed with ADC. In other words, freelance graphic artists, designers and animators must transfer USD 58.00 to the company in-house agents via the Western Union, in order to receive their incentive package and official terms of agreement via courier service. Is there a fee to cover Arabic translation and notary costs of the employment contract? The company says it must be physically received as per the UAE law, and I would like to know if that is a real law?

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Safe way to detect a possible case and travel ban

Q: How can I check if there is any travel ban and/ or case against me before travelling?

Institution of bounced cheques criminal case and restriction on travel

Q: My landlord filed a criminal case against me after my rental cheques bounced in Dubai, and police arrested me at Dubai Airport. Two days later, I was released from Dubai court after paying a fine. The landlord filed a case again after two days because I had another bounced cheque. I have now to report my self to police, and after two days I will pay the fine and get released from Dubai court. The question is if I pay the fine and no civil case filed yet, can I travel to my home country? Please advise me as per my problem. Thanks

Can absence from work without a lawful excuse lead to a lifetime ban?

Q: Dear Sir, My name is Sajid, from India- Kerala. I worked from 2011 to 2017 as a house servant in Dubai. In 2017, I travelled to India for my vacation. At the end of my vacation, I had some family issues and I couldn`t join my job back. My visa expired in June 2017, and I’m currently planning to find a job in the UAE. One of my friends just checked with the immigration and he informed me that my old sponsor made a complaint against me so that I have lifetime ban in the UAE. How to get information about the ban? If there is a ban, is it possible to remove it? Please help me. Yours faithfully, Sajid VH

Seeking an attorney specialized in financial services

Q: I am looking to engage with an attorney specialized in financial services (Securities/ Debt Capital Markets/ Regulatory).

Threatening with a travel ban for defaulting on credit card payments

Q: Good morning. I have defaulted on my credit cards payments in Dubai, and I`m planning to travel soon. How can you assist me to check whether I have a travel ban or not? I did not receive any notification, but the banks threatened to put a travel ban on me if I don`t pay. Is it safe to travel in such conditions?

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Is presenting a security cheque to force contract obligations an illegal act?

Q: I sold my company to a purchaser and I had bank loans. We signed a contract with two main conditions: If he terminates me from Job, he will settle my loans immediately. By June 27, 2017, he will clear my loans or transfer in his name. If he fails to do so, he will give salaries for the delay period. He had given me one security cheque. When he didn`t meet any of the above conditions, I had to deposit the cheque. After the cheque bounced I made a police complaint. According to his lawyer, I was not supposed to deposit the cheque because it was just a security cheque. Now they are planning to file a case against me. Please advise what to do, I don`t have a job for the whole past year.

Does the fine payment for bounced rental cheques remove my travel ban?

Q: Dear Sir, I have a question regarding my rental cheques, where two cheques got bounced recently. For the first cheque, I got arrested by the police at Dubai Airport. I paid the fine at Dubai Courts, then they released me. After two days, one more cheque got bounced and I had already requested to negotiate with the management but they didn`t listen. I cannot pay now because I don`t have a job. Now my question is, can I travel to my home country after paying the fine for my second bounced cheque? Please advise as soon as possible. Thank you.

Does paying the fine for a bounced cheque substitute imprisonment and travel ban?

Q: Hi. If my rental cheque has bounced and I paid the fine in my primary case, do I get a jail term after that? Can I travel to my home country?

Misleading real estate marketing in Dubai

Q: I have purchased a property developed by a developer. They told me verbally that the property is located in Downtown, and in the SPA they used the location Burj Khalifa community developed by another developer. As a first-time property buyer, I trusted them. Now, they are saying that the property is in Business Bay. How can Dubai laws support a customer for the disguised real estate marketing or cheating?

Settling bounced cheques issues with creditors to avoid a lawsuit

Q: Hi. I had some emergency in the last quarter of 2015, and I had to go out of Dubai. Then I faced some problems and was unable to come to Dubai in time. Some cheques that were issued by me had bounced, and I have some questions. I issued a cheque of AED 75000 to somebody but managed to pay only AED 50000, and I have the receipt as well. He agreed that I can pay the rest when I come back to Dubai. I have a receipt only on a plain paper, can he make a complaint against me to pay him the full amount of AED 75000? Three of the cheques I paid against renting two flats, were also bounced. The amount of the first cheque was AED 20000 and the remaining two were AED 12000 each. I contacted one of the real estate agents, and it looks like he currently has the original cheque with him. Does this mean that he did not opt to make a lawsuit? After paying the dues, do we need to go to the Police station to clear the case and make sure there is nothing against me?