Showing posts with label UAE Labour law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UAE Labour law. Show all posts

Employer must bear recruitment expenses in UAE

In the UAE, the cost of recruitment of an employee should to be borne by the employer and the employment card charges are part of the recruitment expenses.  This is in accordance with Article 6(a) of the Ministerial Order No. 52 of 1989 pertaining to rules and procedures to be adopted at the labour permit sections with respect to the recruitment of non-national labour for employment in the UAE, which states: "An undertaking from the employer to the effect that he shall sponsor and be responsible for the recruited employee, the bearing of his recruitment expenses and his employment in accordance with the employment contract in a way not prejudicing the provision of the Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 referred to herein."

In the event the employer deducts the visa expense, you can approach the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation and file a complaint against her employer.
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Can I go on vacation if my UAE visa is expiring soon?

Any expatriate resident of the UAE can enter the country during validity of his or her residence visa. Since your visa will expire few days after you return from your annual vacation, you should be able to enter the UAE when you come back. Alternatively, should you choose, you may renew your visa before travelling on annual vacation.
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Notice Period to quit the job

In accordance with the Labour Law if the employee, who is under a contract for unlimited period, wished to submit his resignation from work, in this case, he shall give notice to the employer on the same and shall work within such period if so required by the employer, i.e. the Labour Law obliges the employee to work within such period and the latter is not entitled to refrain from working within such period, otherwise he will be contrary to Labour Law and be subject to penalty, but he may immediately leave work if the employer allowed him to do so. The contract shall remain in force until the end of the notice period in accordance with the article no. 118 of the Federal Labour Law no. 8 of 1980. As per the law, notice period is one month and may be agreed to increase the same and may not decrease it. Finally, in according to the Ministry of Labour's decisions now applicable, if the employee has completed two years with the existing employer, he may work with a new sponsor without a need for No Objection Certificate from the existing sponsor.

Compensation in lieu of notice

As per Federal Labour Law No. 8 of 1980, Article No. 119: 'Where an employer or a worker fails to give the party notice of the termination of the contract or reduces the period of notice, the party obliged to give notice shall pay the other party 'compensation in lieu of notice', as a result of such failure or reduction. The compensation shall be equal to the wage of the worker’s remuneration in respect of the entire period of notice or the time by which it was reduced. 'Compensation in lieu of notice' shall be calculated on the basis of the remuneration last received, in the case of worker remunerated on a monthly, weekly, daily or hourly basis or in the case of a worker remunerated at piece rates, on the basis of the average daily remuneration referred to in Article 57 of this Law'.

Frequently Asked Questions
30 day notice period must for resigning
Q: I have been working as an auditor for a private company under an unlimited contract. Now I've got a better job and I've given the resignation but the company says that I have to give a minimum of three months' notice as per the offer letter I had signed while joining the firm. There is nothing mentioned about the notice period in the original labour contract which is registered at the Labour Department. Please tell me whether the 30-day notice period is required in my case.A: Both an employer and employee are entitled, as per Article 117 of the labour law, to terminate the unlimited contract of employment any time, yet with legal and acceptable reasons. However, both parties (employer and employee) are bound to notify each other in writing (notice) at least 30 days before ending their labour relationship, either by termination or resignation.
Such a notice period is an indispensable term whether it is stipulated in the contract of employment or not. In other words, no matter this condition is mentioned in the contract or not, it is applicable and guaranteed by law to protect the rights of both parties.

Reducing notice period against contract
Q: I am working in a company and my labour contract is for three years. My contract is unlimited and I have already completed two years of service. In my contract, it is said that I have to give a three-month notice period before resigning. I am planning to quit. Is it possible to give a one-month notice period? If not, what are the consequences?

A: The established principles of law in the UAE are that the contracting parties must observe all the provisions of the relevant contract and must fulfil their obligations accordingly. Since three months' prior notice is mentioned in your employment contract, as per the UAE Labour Law, you must give three-month prior notice for resigning the job. Otherwise, you will be held responsible for compensation in lieu of notice as per Article 119 of the UAE Labour Law.
According to the article, 'If the employer or the employee has failed to serve notice to the other party for termination of the contract or has reduced the notice period, the party obliged to serve the notice shall pay to the other party an indemnity called 'Compensation in lieu of notice', and the indemnity shall be equal to the employee's pay for the notice period in full or in proportion to the diminished part'.

Compensation for not serving notice period
Q: I have been working at an entity based at the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ) in Dubai for the last 20 months. I submitted my resignation on a notice period of 15 days instead of the required 30 days, as I had to return to my home country urgently. The company had sent me for offshore field service jobs and also gave me some training during this period. The company has asked me to repay the money it spent on my visa and training, along with 45 days' full salary, to proceed with the cancellation process. Do I have to pay the money?

A: You have not mentioned about the nature of your employment contract as to whether the same is of limited or unlimited duration. And therefore, our response is based on your working on an unlimited period employment contract vis-a-vis limited period employment contract. In accordance with the labour regulations applicable at the JAFZ, the presence of a written contract drawn on JAFZA template signifies the existence of a limited period contract. Otherwise, it is presumed that the employer and the employee have an unlimited period contract between them. Owing to this, the rules pertaining to termination of employment will follow the provisions of the Federal Law No 8 of 1980 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (the 'Labour Law').

In view of the foregoing, if your employment contract is of unlimited duration, then you are within your rights to terminate your employment by giving a prior notice of 30 days. This is in accordance with Article 117 of the Labour Law which states:

(1) Both the employer and the worker may terminate a contract of employment of unlimited duration for a valid reason at any time following its conclusion by giving the other party notice in writing at least 30 days before the termination.

However, it may also be noted that if the employee fails to give proper notice of termination or reduces the period of notice, then he shall be liable to compensate his employer for the number of days so reduced. This is in accordance with Article 119 of the Labour Law which states:

'Where an employer or a worker fails to give the other party notice of the termination of the contract or reduces the period of notice, the party obliged to give notice shall pay the other party compensation, called 'compensation in lieu of notice' even where no prejudice has been sustained by the other party as a result of such failure or reduction. The said compensation shall be equal to the worker's remuneration in respect of the entire period of notice or the time by which it was reduced. Compensation in lieu of notice shall be calculated on the basis of the remuneration last received, the case of worker remunerated on a monthly, weekly, daily or hourly basis or in the case of a worker remunerated at piece rates, on the basis of the average daily remuneration referred to in article 57 of this Law.'

Pursuant to the foregoing, if you were employed under an unlimited period contract, and you had given a prior notice of 15 days instead of the required 30 days, then you shall be liable to compensate your employer for the reduced period of notice that is, your salary for 15 days calculated on the basis of your last drawn full salary.

If however, your employment was of limited duration, you will be liable to compensate your employer with an amount equal to your 45 days' remuneration. This is in accordance with Article 116 of the Labour Law which states:

'Where a contract is revoked by the worker for reasons other than those specified in Article (121), he shall be required to compensate the employer for any damage the latter sustains as a result, provided that the amount of compensation shall not exceed half a month wage for three months or for the remaining period of the contract, whichever is shorter, unless otherwise stipulated in the contract.'

In view of this, you may be required to compensate your employer for an amount, which is equal to your salary for 45 days.

Further, you are not required to repay your employer for the cost of your employment visa, as this is against the laws of the UAE. The issue of repayment of training expenses will depend on the applicable regulations in JAFZ and also in accordance with the specific tewrms in your employment contract with respect to training.

In view of the foregoing, you may try and prevail upon your employer to cancel your visa in accordance with the law. However, if you and your employer fail to settle the matter amicably, in accordance with the provisions of law, you may consider to approach the relevant section at Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority, which deals with the disputes between the employers and employees.

Employer cannot recover Visa renewal cost
Q: I have been working in a foodstuff trading company since 1998. My residence visa was renewed in February 2012, but my labour card is expiring in February 2013 and my job contract is unlimited. Recently, due to some health problems of my father in India, I was unable to continue my work in Dubai, and hence submitted my resignation giving a 30-day notice period, which the company has accepted. I wish to cancel my visa and travel back to India. But the company told me they would impose a one-year ban and recover my salary for 45 days towards my visa renewal charges. Is this legal?

A: It is not legal for your employer to recover the visa's cost if you have given 30-day prior notice unless otherwise provided in your employment contract.
Under UAE laws, if an employee leaves a job without completing two years, then the Ministry of Labour will impose a work ban for six months or for one year if it is imposed by the company and during that time, the individual is not allowed to work in the UAE. Both these situations are not applicable to you as you have completed 14 years in the same company. Furthermore, a work ban is not applicable if the current or new employer is based in a free zone in Dubai.

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Can the Employer educe the employee's salary as per the UAE labour law?

UAE Federal Law No. 08 of 1980, Article no. 60, which mentions the following;

 “No amount of money may be deducted from a worker’s remuneration in respect of private claims, except in the following cases:

 a) The recovery of advances or amounts of money paid to the worker in excess of their entitlements, on condition that the amount deducted in this case does not exceed 10 per cent of his periodic remuneration.

 b) Contributions which the worker is required by law to pay from his remuneration, e.g. towards social security and insurance schemes.

 c) The worker’s contributions to savings fund or repayment of advances repayable thereto.

 d) Contributions towards any welfare scheme or in respect of any other privileges or services provided by the employer and approved by the Labour Department.

 e) Fines imposed upon the worker for any offence he has committed.

 f) Any debt payable in execution of the judgement of a court of law.

The deduction shall not exceed one-quarter of the worker’s remuneration. Where two or more debts are payable, the maximum shall be half the worker’s remuneration and the sums of money attached shall be divided pro rata among the beneficiaries, after payment of any legal alimony at the rate of one-quarter of the workers remuneration.”
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Working on public holidays entitles you to lieu day and 50% bonus in UAE; Labour Law

Federal Law No. 08 of 1980, Article no. 81, mentions the following: “Where the circumstances of the worker to work on public holidays or rest day in respect of which he is entitled to full or partial pay, he shall be granted compensatory leave in respect of such days, together with a bonus equal to 50 per cent of his remuneration. If he is not compensated for such days by leave, his employer shall pay him a bonus equal to 150 per cent of his basic remuneration in respect of the days worked.”
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Annual Leave; UAE Labour Law

What are an employee's annual leave entitlements?
For every year of service, an employee is entitled to annual leave of not less than the following:

1. Two days leave for every month if his service is more than six months and less than one year.

2. A minimum of thirty days annually, if his service exceeds one year. At the end of his service the employee is entitled to annual leave for the fraction of the last year he spent in service.
Annual leave is usually calculated on the basis of a calendar month rather than by working days. If an employee however fails to report back to work after the expiry of his leave period, his remuneration will automatically be forfeited for the days he is absent.

What would be payable to the employee during his annual leave?
An employee is paid his basic wage plus the housing allowance, if applicable, and any other allowances which he receives in the normal working month exclusive of any bonuses received.

Who determines when the annual leave commences and its duration?
The employer has the right to determine when an employee is allowed to take his annual leave and whether (if required) he is entitled to divide the leave into two parts.
If however, work circumstances require keeping the employee at work during the whole or part of his annual leave and the leave has not been carried over for the following year, the employer should pay the employee his wage in addition to a leave allowance for the days he worked equal to his basic wage.
In all cases, no employee should be required to work during his annual leave more than once during two consecutive years.
In other words, the employer may only defer the annual leave once in two consecutive years and at the same time pay the employee the annual leave wages.

When should annual leave wages be paid?
The employee should be paid his full wage before taking his annual leave, plus the wage of the leave days he has accrued.

Is the employee entitled to payment in lieu of leave if his services are terminated?
The employee is entitled to payment of his wages for the annual leave period not taken if his employment is terminated, or he resigns after serving the period of notice determined by law. Such payment is calculated on the basic wage received at the time the leave was due including any housing or accommodation allowance where applicable. Some employers also include transportation allowance in the calculation, although this is discretionary rather than compulsory.
Nevertheless, according to judgments delivered on the matter, an employee may only claim remuneration for the annual leave not taken for the last two years of employment at the rate of the wages paid during that time. Any leave days not taken prior to that period are therefore time barred and the employee is precluded from claiming remuneration against them (providing the employer relies on this time bar provision in the event of a claim).

I have been working in a company in the food industry for four years. I am eligible for my annual leave now. Last week, I applied for the leave, but my application was rejected by the office, saying that there are not enough staff at the moment. I would like to know if my company has the right to deny my annual leave.

Annual leave cannot be denied for two yearsAccording to Article 78 of the federal labour law, if the work requires your stay in the country and prevents you from taking your leave, and if your leave is not carried forward to the next year, the employer has to pay you remuneration plus a leave allowance for the days you worked at a rate equal to your basic wages. Furthermore, this exception is not allowed more than once in two successive years.
Article 75 of the UAE Labour Law governs the annual leave of an employee. An employee is not entitled to an annual leave if his employment period is less than six months. However, if his employment period is more than six months but less than a year, he shall be entitled to an annual leave of not less than two days for each month.

However, if the employment period is more than a year, he is entitled to 30 days annual leave. Therefore, the duration of annual leave shall not be decreased as the right to annual leave is granted by the law. Article 75 states:

The employee must be granted an annual leave during each year of service which may not be less than:

1. Two days per month with respect to any employee with more than six months and less than one year of service.

2. Thirty days per annum with respect to any employee whose period of service exceeds one year. In the event of termination of an employee's service, he shall be entitled to an annual leave depending on the number of months completed in the last year of service.

The employer has the right to specify the beginning of the annual leave and he can divide the leave into two parts, when necessary, in order to ensure smooth operation of the organisation/company. Article 76 states: The employer, at his discretion, may determine the date for the commencement of annual leave and, when necessary, he may decide to divide the leave in two parts at the most, except in cases of juveniles, where vacation may not be divided in parts.

In such an event, the leave may be forwarded to the next year, but it may not be suspended for more than two years and the employee will be entitled to sixty days annual leave in the next year if not paid in cash in lieu of the leave for his working days. Article 78 states: The employee shall receive his basic pay in addition to housing allowance, if any, for the annual leave days. However, if the exigencies of work necessitate that the employee works during his annual leave in whole or in part, and the period of leave during which he has worked has not been carried forward to the next year, the employer ought to pay him his wage in addition to cash in lieu of the leave for his working days based on his basic pay.

It shall be unlawful in any circumstances to employ a worker during his annual leave more than once in two successive years.

I work as a school nurse here. Our employer said that during vacation, we will not receive any salary and that is for July and August. They will also not shoulder our accommodation charges. I am very worried because that is not what we agreed on or was written in the employment contract. They made us sign a waiver that we will have our two-month vacation without pay. Please advise.

Salary must not be deducted during vacation
As a general principle of law, a binding contract cannot be changed unilaterally. Article 267 of the UAE Civil Code states: A binding contract cannot be changed unilaterally except with mutual consent of the parties or by an order of the court or by law. Therefore, your employer does not have any legal right to deduct your salary or shoulder your accommodation charges if it is provided in your employment contract. Since you have signed the amended waiver, thus, it is binding upon you unless you prove that you have been forced to sign this waiver (KT).

Leave SalaryLeave salary is meant to include the basic salary and housing allowance. This is in accordance with the provisions of Article 78 of the Labour Law which states:

Every worker shall be entitled to his basic wage and the housing allowance, if applicable in respect of his days of annual leave where the circumstances of the work make it necessary for a worker to work during all or part of his annual leave and the days of leave on which he works are not carried forward to the following year, the employer shall pay him his remuneration, plus a leave allowance in respect of the days worked at a rate equal to his basic wage.

It shall be unlawful in any circumstances to employ a worker during his annual leave more than once in two successive years.

Leave salaries are accrued and payable even if an employee leaves his employment or is dismissed by the employer, and such leave salary shall be payable in accordance with the employee's salary as of the date when his leave was due. This is in accordance with Article 79 of the Labour Law which states:

A worker who is dismissed or who leaves his job after the period of notice prescribed by law shall be paid for any accrued annual leave days. Such payment shall be calculated on the basis of the worker's wage as on the date when the leave became due.

Unused leave should be compensated
Q: One of my employees resigned before completing one year at our company. He recently travelled to his country without resigning and wanted to avail 14 of his 24 days' annual leaves (the number for employees with less than one year's service).

A month later, his mother died, and he considered himself on emergency leave. After 67 days away, he finally submitted his resignation from his home country.

Do I need to pay him legally? I believe there is no gratuity or leave balance since he has already availed his leave. He has not served his notice period, too. Is he eligible for emergency leave before completing one year?

A: Pursuant to your questions, you should pay the said employee for the 14 days of annual leave and for the balance of annual leave not availed by the employee in accordance with Article 79 of the Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 regulating Employment Relations in UAE (the "Labour Law") which states: "Where a worker is dismissed or leaves his job after the period of notice prescribed by law, he shall be entitled to remuneration in respect of any days of annual leaves not taken. Such remuneration shall be calculated on the basis of the remuneration that he earned on the date on which the leave became due." Further, Article 75 of the Labour Law reads: "Every worker shall, within each year of service, be granted a period of annual leave of not less than:

(a) two a month, where the worker's period of service is more than six months but less than one year;

(b) 30 days a year, where the worker's period of service is more than one year. Where a worker's service is terminated, he shall be entitled to annual leave in respect of fractions of the last year."

The Labour Law is silent about emergency leave and therefore the employee may not be eligible for emergency leave before or after completion of one year of employment. However, depending on the policy of the employer, the employer may treat the emergency leave availed by the employee as an extension of his annual leave.

In this particular instance, due to the demise of the mother of the employee the employer may at discretion grant emergency leave to an employee on humanitarian grounds. The employee is not eligible for severance pay as he has not completed one year of employment.

We assume that the said employee's work permit and visa are cancelled. In this scenario you may not be in a position to claim any compensation from the employee. In case his work permit is not cancelled, you may be able to claim compensation from the employee on the grounds that he has not served the 'notice period' in accordance to Article 119 of the Labour Law which states: "Where an employer or a worker fails to give the party notice of the termination of the contract or reduces the period of notice, the party obliged to give notice shall pay the other party compensation, called "compensation in lieu of notice", even where no prejudice has been sustained by the other party as a result of such failure or reduction.

The said compensation shall be equal to the worker's remuneration in respect of the entire period of notice or the time by which it was reduced. Compensation in lieu of notice shall be calculated on the basis of the remuneration last received, in the case of worker remunerated on a monthly, weekly, daily or hourly basis or in the case of a worker remunerated at piece rates, on the basis of the average daily remuneration referred to in article 57 of this Law.

NOTE: Hamriyah Free Zone, Sharjah, matters pertaining to employment is governed by the provisions of Federal Law No. 8 of 1980, relating to Regulation of Labour Relations (the Labour Law).
+ Ministry of Labour, Al Qusais, Dubai, 

Timing: Saturday to Thursday 7:30am to 7:00pm
Call Centre: 80060 Website: www.mohre.gov.ae
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Disciplinary Rules; UAE Labour Law

Article 102

 The disciplinary rules that may be inflicted by the employer or the representative shall be:

 1 - Warning

 2 - Fine

 3 - Suspension with reduced pay for a period not exceeding ten days

 4 - Deprivation from or deferment of periodic bonus in establishments containing a system for such bonuses

 5 - Deprivation from promotion in establishments applying a system for such promotion

 6 - Dismissal from work without prejudice to the end of service gratuity

 7 - Dismissal from work and deprivation from the total end of service gratuity or a part thereof.

 Article 103

 The disciplinary rules shall determine the cases where each disciplinary sanction set forth in the preceding Article shall be inflicted.

 The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs shall issue, by means of a decision thereof, a model list of disciplinary rules and rewards to guide the employers in setting their own rules in this regard.

 Article 104

 The fine may be a specific amount or an amount equal to the wage of the worker for a specific period. The fine prescribed with regards to one breach may not exceed the wage of five days. Furthermore, for the settlement of the fines imposed on the worker, a maximum amount equal to the wage of five days may be deducted from the wage of the worker per month.

 Article 105

 Fines imposed on workers shall be recorded in a special register along with the cause and circumstances of imposition thereof as well as the name and wage of the worker. A special account shall be allocated therefore and the monthly proceeds thereof shall be used for the social welfare of the workers in accordance with the decisions issued by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in this regard.

 Article 106

 The penalty of deprivation of the periodic allowance may only be imposed once per year. Such allowance may not be deferred for more than six months.

 Article 107

 The penalty of deprivation of the promotion may not be imposed for more than one promotional cycle. The penalised worker shall be then promoted during the following promotional cycle should he meet the necessary conditions for such promotion.

 Article 108

 The financial differences from the deprivation of the promotion or allowance or the deferment thereof, of which the employer shall benefit, shall be registered in a special register along with the cause and circumstances of the imposition as well as the name and wage of the worker. A special account shall be allocated and the monthly proceeds thereof shall be used for the social welfare of the workers in accordance with the decisions issued by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in this regard.

 Article 109

 No disciplinary sanction may be imposed on the worker for an act perpetrated thereby outside the workplace, unless such act is connected to the work, the employer or the responsible manager. Furthermore, it shall not be permissible to impose more than one sanction or combine any disciplinary sanction with the deduction of any part of the wage of the worker in accordance with the provision of Article 61 hereof.

 Article 110

 It shall not be permissible to impose on the worker any of the sanctions set forth in Article 102 unless after the notification thereof in writing with regards to charges made against him, after having heard the worker and the defence investigated, and after having recorded the matter in a minutes deposited in his personal file. The sanction shall be noted at the end of such minutes.

 The worker shall be notified in writing of the sanctions imposed thereupon, the type and amount thereof, the causes of imposition and the sanction to be imposed in case of recidivism.

 Article 111

 The worker may not be accused of a disciplinary offence after thirty days of the discovery thereof. Furthermore, no disciplinary sanction may be imposed after sixty days from the date of the end of the investigation in the offence of which the worker is found guilty.

 Article 112

 As amended by Federal Law no. 12 dated 29/10/1986:

 The worker may be temporarily suspended from work upon the charging thereof of a deliberate crime against life, property, honour, honesty or of carrying out a strike.

 The suspension period shall commence on the date of the notification of the incident to the competent authorities and until the issuance of a decision thereby in such regard. The worker shall not be entitled to his wage during the said suspension period. Should a decision be issued for the non-prosecution or the acquittal of the worker, the latter shall be reinstated and paid the full wage for the suspension period, should such suspension be arbitrary from the employer.
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