Introduction
This article shall elaborate on the duties employers regarding registration of employees and the rights of employees after the termination of their labor contracts in the UAE. In general terms, all expatriate employees who wish to work in the UAE must be employed by an appropriately licensed and approved company and must be issued with an entry permit for employment purposes, a labor card (work permit) and a residence visa.
Some Employees do not know their rights upon the termination of their employment contracts, so the issue has to be carefully considered.
Comply with the Law
Employment relations in the private sector in the UAE are governed and regulated by Federal Law No. 8 on Regulation of Labor Relations for the year 1980. Employing foreign workers in the UAE entails complying with certain registration procedures such as residence visa. If an employee doesnt have work permission and/or company sponsorship, article 13 of the Labor Law obliges the employer employing a foreigner to obtain permission and/or company sponsorship from the Ministry of Labor. The Labor Law is protective of employees in general and supersedes conflicting contractual provisions agreed under another jurisdiction, unless they are beneficial to the employee. Furthermore, this rule is applicable to the Free Zones taking into account that there is no work permission.
Probation Period and seven rights
It is important to note that any provision of the labor contract is invalid if it either contradicts the UAE labor law or conflicts with the public interest. These provisions can relate to establishment of probation period, gratuity, notice period, salary or to any penalty applied to the employee. According to the Federal Law No.8 of the year 1980 probation period cannot exceed six month.
The Labor Law provides the Employees with mainly seven rights that have to be followed by the employer upon the termination of the labor contract.
According to the Labor Law, an employee terminating his contract has rights to: – Get his/her unpaid salary – Get charges for extra hours of work – Have annual leave – Get gratuity (21 days basic remuneration for every year of the first five years of service and 1 month any year after.) – Get an air ticket – Notice period salary – Get a compensation for unfair dismissal (with maximum three months, but this period can be even more if it is not mentioned in the contract)
As well as these seven rights, there can be additional rights which are included in the contract such as commission and bonuses.
However, if the termination happens within the probation period, which can be 6 months or less depending on contract, the employee will not have right to claim the rights mentioned above. He will only be entitled to unpaid salary, charges for extra hours of work and air ticket. The bar time on labor matters for Dubai based companies is 1 year from the moment of termination of the labor contract.
