Among the most common legal consultancy that our office receives daily and that the lawyer or legal consultant answers are those related to work, the employee and the employer, and the relationship between them, as well as the procedures for terminating the employment relationship by any party, as well as the extent to which the employee is entitled to arbitrary dismissal or not upon termination of the employment relationship by the employer without legitimate reasons.
The amendments to the new labor law had the greatest impact in further clarifying and simplifying the relationship between the employer and the employee and the rights and obligations of each towards the other.
It is worth noting that we should indicate here that “indefinite-term” employment contracts have been canceled, and all employment contracts are of only one type, which is the “definite-term” employment contract, with a term of either (1), (2) or (3) years as a maximum, and it may be renewed under the same conditions or under different conditions according to the agreement between both parties. This fundamental amendment closes the door for employees to claim compensation for the arbitrary dismissal, which for a long time was a major demand in most labor lawsuits filed, as the definite-term contract expires with the expiry of its term; accordingly, it is not arbitrary to express the desire not to renew it on the part of the employer.
Probationary Period And The Termination Notice:
As for the probationary period, the new amendment stipulates that: the employer shall notify the employee during the probationary period of its desire to terminate the employment relationship within a period of no less than (14) days from the date of the end of the probationary period, which has material and moral effects as it has a positive impact on the employee and his/her future career plan.
A Questions Received By The Lawyer
A question received by the lawyer: any absent has an excuse, except for me!
“I was absent from my workplace for (10) consecutive days, as I was going through compelling circumstances that prevented me from contacting my employer or telling him that I would be absent from work, and I was surprised on the eleventh (11th) day that the employer terminated my services without notice-shall he have the right to do so? And now I want to file a labor lawsuit against him for this reason?
The lawyer answers: The employer shall have the right to terminate the employee’s services without notice if he/she is absent from work without a legitimate reason or excuse accepted by the employer for more than twenty (20) intermittent days during the year, or more than (7) consecutive days.
A question received by the lawyer: What is payment in lieu of notice?
The lawyer answers: The payment in lieu of notice in the employment contract is a compensation required to be paid by the employer or the employee, as stated in the law, if either of them terminates the employment contract on his part without respecting the determined period that shall elapse between the occurrence of the notice and the termination of the contract by notifying the other party in writing within the lawfully-stated date of his intention to do so.
A question received by the lawyer:
I work in a private sector company, and the employer was committed to paying the salaries of all employees at the beginning, but six (6) months ago, he started delaying payment of the salaries until we passed two (2) consecutive months without receiving a salary, or we receive it in installments throughout the month. Accordingly, I filed a labor complaint against the company, and then the employer terminated my services the day after I submitted the complaint. Shall he have the right to do so?
The lawyer answers: Termination of the employees’ service by the employer is considered illegal if the termination of service is due to the employee submits a serious complaint to the Ministry or files a lawsuit against the employer, which has been proven to be valid.
A question received by the lawyer: This is my career, what can I do?
I work as a doctor, and when I applied to join my current workplace, my employer requested me to sign a non- competition clause in the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and he did not specify a period for that, and I did. After (5) years of work, I submitted my resignation because I got a better job opportunity, but the employer filed a lawsuit against me claiming that I violated the non- competition clause, and I know that his real intention is to prevent me from joining the new job, so what should I do? Shall he have the right to prevent me from getting the new job? Also, I was psychologically affected by what happened to me, and I cannot return to my previous workplace again, bearing in mind that the medical profession is my only source of income, and I am not good at any other profession or work, and I cannot move to another Emirate because my family is with me and it is difficult for us to move?
The lawyer answers: The non-competition clause in employment contracts should be specific in terms of time, place and type of work to the extent necessary to protect legitimate business interests, and it should not exceed two (2) years from the date of expiration of the employment contract, otherwise it will be invalid.
A question received by the lawyer: I submitted my resignation from my first workplace, and due to my great preoccupation, I could not file a labor lawsuit to claim my labor dues, which I expect to be in excess of “AED 80 thousand” for more than (13) months, and some friends told me that I am not entitled now to claim my labor dues because a year has passed on its maturity date-is that correct?
The lawyer answers: The labor rights stated for the employee shall be revoked by prescription after one (1) year has elapsed from its maturity date.